Nursing home workers on strike in fight for better wages, hazard pay, PPE; plan to continue picket line as long as it takes – WLS-TV
Uncategorized / By fiascojob
CHICAGO (WLS) — Some of the local nursing home workers went on strike early Monday morning.
City View Multicare Center in Cicero has had more than 200 COVID-19 cases and 15 deaths according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Workers have said that they do not feel safe.
“I’m hoping we come to an agreement so we can go back to work and take care of our residents because they’re used to who they’re used to,” said Sade Drake, City View Multicare Center worker.
“We feel like we’re heroes and we want to be treated like heroes. We’re living below the poverty level,” said Shantonia Jackson, certified nursing assistant.
Nearly 700 essential nursing home workers walked off the job at 11 Infinity Health-owned facilities in the Greater Chicago area. They have been without a contract since June.
Nursing assistants, dietary aides and housekeepers in part, have demanded at least a $15 an hour wage, hazard pay for all employees and a sufficient supply of personal protective equipment.
“Hazard pay is not a lot to ask. These people are putting their lives on the line. So I don’t think you can separate the demands. I think that they are all equally justifiable in the situation we’re currently experiencing,” said Erica Bland-Durosinmi, Executive Vice President Executive Healthcare Illinois.
Jackson helps patients there with daily care like bathing and eating, and fears she’ll be the next to contract the virus.
“We get masks that as soon as you put the string on your face, it pops. We don’t get N-95 masks, and that’s what we really need,” she said.
The union said many of their patients support them.
“Family members have been on press conferences with us. They fully support this fight because they wanna make sure their loved ones are receiving the care they deserve,” said Bland-Durosinmi.
Infinity Health has not responded to request for comment.
Workers said they are prepared to strike as long as it takes for better pay and greater protections from COVID-19. They will be back at the picket line Tuesday morning at 6 a.m.
Copyright © 2020 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.
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Nursing home workers on strike in fight for better wages, hazard pay, PPE; plan to continue picket line as long as it takes – WLS-TV
Uncategorized / By fiascojob
CHICAGO (WLS) — Some of the local nursing home workers went on strike early Monday morning.
City View Multicare Center in Cicero has had more than 200 COVID-19 cases and 15 deaths according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Workers have said that they do not feel safe.
“I’m hoping we come to an agreement so we can go back to work and take care of our residents because they’re used to who they’re used to,” said Sade Drake, City View Multicare Center worker.
“We feel like we’re heroes and we want to be treated like heroes. We’re living below the poverty level,” said Shantonia Jackson, certified nursing assistant.
Nearly 700 essential nursing home workers walked off the job at 11 Infinity Health-owned facilities in the Greater Chicago area. They have been without a contract since June.
Nursing assistants, dietary aides and housekeepers in part, have demanded at least a $15 an hour wage, hazard pay for all employees and a sufficient supply of personal protective equipment.
“Hazard pay is not a lot to ask. These people are putting their lives on the line. So I don’t think you can separate the demands. I think that they are all equally justifiable in the situation we’re currently experiencing,” said Erica Bland-Durosinmi, Executive Vice President Executive Healthcare Illinois.
Jackson helps patients there with daily care like bathing and eating, and fears she’ll be the next to contract the virus.
“We get masks that as soon as you put the string on your face, it pops. We don’t get N-95 masks, and that’s what we really need,” she said.
The union said many of their patients support them.
“Family members have been on press conferences with us. They fully support this fight because they wanna make sure their loved ones are receiving the care they deserve,” said Bland-Durosinmi.
Infinity Health has not responded to request for comment.
Workers said they are prepared to strike as long as it takes for better pay and greater protections from COVID-19. They will be back at the picket line Tuesday morning at 6 a.m.
Copyright © 2020 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Sorgente articolo:
Nursing home workers on strike in fight for better wages, hazard pay, PPE; plan to continue picket line as long as it takes – WLS-TV
Workers go on strike at 11 nursing homes in Illinois, demanding higher wages and COVID-19 pandemic hazard pay
Nov 23, 2020
Nearly 700 nursing home workers went on strike Monday at 11 facilities in Illinois, seeking higher pay and greater protections from the COVID pandemic.
Certified nursing assistants, aides, housekeepers and other workers went on strike at 6 a.m. after failing to reach a contract agreement with the owner of Infinity Healthcare Management of Illinois.
The members of SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Indiana said they were seeking pay of $15.50 an hour for CNAs, and about $15 an hour for housekeepers and other workers, and hazard pay as essential workers during the pandemic. They say it’s similar to terms other workers in the state got after a nursing home strike earlier this year by about 10,000 workers at 100 nursing homes.
Infinity received nearly $13 million in federal aid through the CARES Act this year, and is seeking more, according to the union, part of the Service Employees International Union.
Infinity did not answer repeated phone calls or respond to repeated requests for comment. Nursing home industry officials have said repeatedly that they are hampered by low Medicaid payments, and need public financial aid, protective equipment and testing to get through the coronavirus pandemic.
Illinois lawmakers last year increased Medicaid funding for nursing homes by up to $240 million, and $70 million of that was meant to address staffing needs.
Most of the 11 homes that would be affected by a strike are in the Chicago area. They include City View Multicare Center in Cicero, which had 249 coronavirus cases, and Niles Nursing & Rehabilitation in Niles, which had 54 COVID-related deaths, both among the most at any long-term care facility in the state.
The other homes are Ambassador Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Continental Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Lakeview Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, Southpoint Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, all in Chicago, and Oak Lawn Respiratory & Rehabilitation Center, Forest View Rehabilitation in Itasca, Parker Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Streator, West Suburban Nursing & Rehabilitation in Bloomingdale and Momence Meadows Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.
Most of the workers are Black or Hispanic women. Typically, managers and contract workers attempt to replace the striking nursing home workers. Even with all their employees, nursing homes have chronically been accused of not having enough staff members, and administrators have said it’s especially hard to find enough workers during the pandemic, when some are sick or afraid to work.
Nov 23, 2020
Nearly 700 nursing home workers went on strike Monday at 11 facilities in Illinois, seeking higher pay and greater protections from the COVID pandemic.
Certified nursing assistants, aides, housekeepers and other workers went on strike at 6 a.m. after failing to reach a contract agreement with the owner of Infinity Healthcare Management of Illinois.
The members of SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Indiana said they were seeking pay of $15.50 an hour for CNAs, and about $15 an hour for housekeepers and other workers, and hazard pay as essential workers during the pandemic. They say it’s similar to terms other workers in the state got after a nursing home strike earlier this year by about 10,000 workers at 100 nursing homes.
Infinity received nearly $13 million in federal aid through the CARES Act this year, and is seeking more, according to the union, part of the Service Employees International Union.
Infinity did not answer repeated phone calls or respond to repeated requests for comment. Nursing home industry officials have said repeatedly that they are hampered by low Medicaid payments, and need public financial aid, protective equipment and testing to get through the coronavirus pandemic.
Illinois lawmakers last year increased Medicaid funding for nursing homes by up to $240 million, and $70 million of that was meant to address staffing needs.
Most of the 11 homes that would be affected by a strike are in the Chicago area. They include City View Multicare Center in Cicero, which had 249 coronavirus cases, and Niles Nursing & Rehabilitation in Niles, which had 54 COVID-related deaths, both among the most at any long-term care facility in the state.
The other homes are Ambassador Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Continental Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Lakeview Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, Southpoint Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, all in Chicago, and Oak Lawn Respiratory & Rehabilitation Center, Forest View Rehabilitation in Itasca, Parker Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Streator, West Suburban Nursing & Rehabilitation in Bloomingdale and Momence Meadows Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.
Most of the workers are Black or Hispanic women. Typically, managers and contract workers attempt to replace the striking nursing home workers. Even with all their employees, nursing homes have chronically been accused of not having enough staff members, and administrators have said it’s especially hard to find enough workers during the pandemic, when some are sick or afraid to work.
Nearly 700 nursing home workers walk off job, begin strike in fight for better wages, hazard pay, PPE
Nursing assistants, dietary aides and housekeepers are among those demanding better pay and protection.
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Some of the local nursing home workers went on strike early Monday morning.
City View Multicare Center in Cicero has had more than 200 COVID-19 cases and 15 deaths according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Workers have said that they do not feel safe.
"I'm hoping we come to an agreement so we can go back to work and take care of our residents because they're used to who they're used to," said Sade Drake, City View Multicare Center worker.
"We feel like we're heroes and we want to be treated like heroes. We're living below the poverty level," said Shantonia Jackson, certified nursing assistant.
Nearly 700 essential nursing home workers walked off the job at 11 Infinity Health-owned facilities in the Greater Chicago area. They have been without a contract since June.
Nursing assistants, dietary aides and housekeepers in part, have demanded at least a $15 an hour wage, hazard pay for all employees and a sufficient supply of personal protective equipment.
"Hazard pay is not a lot to ask. These people are putting their lives on the line. So I don't think you can separate the demands. I think that they are all equally justifiable in the situation we're currently experiencing," said Erica Bland-Durosinmi, Executive Vice President Executive Healthcare Illinois.
Jackson helps patients there with daily care like bathing and eating, and fears she'll be the next to contract the virus.
"We get masks that as soon as you put the string on your face, it pops. We don't get N-95 masks, and that's what we really need," she said.
The union said many of their patients support them.
"Family members have been on press conferences with us. They fully support this fight because they wanna make sure their loved ones are receiving the care they deserve," said Bland-Durosinmi.
Infinity Health has not responded to request for comment.
Workers said they are prepared to strike as long as it takes for better pay and greater protections from COVID-19. They will be back at the picket line Tuesday morning at 6 a.m.
Workers go on strike at 11 nursing homes in Illinois, demanding higher wages and COVID-19 pandemic hazard pay
By ROBERT MCCOPPIN
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
NOV 23, 2020
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Dwayne Knox left, pickets with SEIU Healthcare Illinois workers at Oak Lawn Respiratory and Rehabilitation Center in Oak Lawn on Nov. 23, 2020. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)
Nearly 700 nursing home workers went on strike Monday at 11 facilities in Illinois, seeking higher pay and greater protections from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Certified nursing assistants (CNAs), aides, housekeepers and other workers went on strike at 6 a.m. after failing to reach a contract agreement with the owner of Infinity Healthcare Management of Illinois.
The members of SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Indiana said they were seeking pay of $15.50 an hour for CNAs, and about $15 an hour for housekeepers and other workers, and hazard pay as essential workers during the pandemic. They say it’s similar to terms other workers in the state got after a nursing home strike earlier this year by about 10,000 workers at 100 nursing homes.
Infinity received nearly $13 million in federal coronavirus relief aid this year and is seeking more, according to the union, part of the Service Employees International Union.
Infinity did not answer repeated phone calls or respond to repeated requests for comment. Nursing home industry officials have said repeatedly that they are hampered by low Medicaid payments, and need public financial aid, protective equipment and testing to get through the coronavirus pandemic.
Illinois lawmakers last year increased Medicaid funding for nursing homes by up to $240 million, and $70 million of that was meant to address staffing needs.
Most of the 11 homes that would be affected by a strike are in the Chicago area. They include City View Multicare Center in Cicero, which had 249 coronavirus cases, and Niles Nursing & Rehabilitation in Niles, which had 54 COVID-19-related deaths, both among the most at any long-term care facility in the state.
The other homes are Ambassador Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Continental Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Lakeview Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, Southpoint Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, all in Chicago, and Oak Lawn Respiratory & Rehabilitation Center, Forest View Rehabilitation in Itasca, Parker Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Streator, West Suburban Nursing & Rehabilitation in Bloomingdale and Momence Meadows Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.
Most of the workers are Black or Hispanic women. Typically, managers and contract workers attempt to replace the striking nursing home workers. Even with all their employees, nursing homes have chronically been accused of not having enough staff members, and administrators have said it’s especially hard to find enough workers during the pandemic, when some are sick or afraid to work.
About two-thirds of Infinity workers said they had to work a second job to make ends meet, which increases the risk of exposure to COVID-19, while some workers left for higher pay elsewhere, leaving the homes short-staffed, union officials said. They said testing for COVID-19 at Infinity is inconsistent with slow results.
“We are striking for our lives, to protect ourselves and our families and to stand up for our residents,” CNA Shantonia Jackson said at news conference on the picket line in Cicero.
A strike was averted in May when the Illinois Association of Health Care Facilities granted pay raises and $2 an hour hazard pay to about 10,000 SEIU workers at more than 100 homes.
AARP was not involved in these disputes, but AARP Illinois State Director Bob Gallo said his organization was saddened that vulnerable nursing home residents are caught up in a dispute that threatens their safety during the pandemic.
“As an organization dedicated to advocating on behalf of older adults and their families,” Gallo said, “AARP hopes a quick resolution can be found that prioritizes the quality of life, health and safety of nursing home residents and the nursing home staff at a time when they need us the most.”
Chicago nursing home workers launch strike against poverty wages, lack of protection from COVID-19
Alexander Fangmann WSWS
24 November 2020
Nearly 700 nursing home workers went on strike Monday morning at 11 of 13 facilities operated by Illinois-based Infinity Healthcare Management, predominantly located in the Chicago metropolitan region. The workers, who include certified nursing assistants (CNAs) as well as those doing crucial laundry and housekeeping, are demanding an increase to their wages, as well as hazard pay in recognition of the dangerous conditions prevailing in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities (LTCFs) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Workers are also demanding adequate personal protective equipment and improved staffing, with many overstretched workloads substantially worsened as nursing home staff themselves fall ill or have to quarantine.
Infinity Health Care workers at Niles Nursing & Rehabilitation (Credit: WSWS)
Workers who spoke to the World Socialist Web Site said they are currently paid around $13 per hour and are demanding raises of about $2 per hour. This would bring CNAs up to a starting pay of $15.50 across the state, still a poverty wage and barely above Chicago’s minimum, which is set to rise to $15 in 2021. Pay for non-CNA workers would rise to $14.50 outside of Chicago and $15 at facilities located in Chicago.
According to the SEIU Healthcare Illinois-Indiana union, Infinity management has refused to bring worker pay in line with the paltry increases the union negotiated earlier at 100 facilities with about 10,000 workers. In a conference call with workers Sunday, Shaba Andrich, the union’s vice president for nursing homes, said that Infinity is offering only a $15.15 starting wage for new CNAs, a $0.25 per hour raise for those making above that, and a yearly raise of only $0.10 per hour.
Striking workers should take warning: While posturing as fighting for low-wage workers, the SEIU has over many years perfected the art of negotiating sellout contracts for its highly exploited members, tamping down worker militancy and enforcing management’s demands. In order to conduct a real fight to secure both their needs and those they care for, striking workers should take the struggle out of the hands of SEIU and move to elect rank-and-file strike committees, democratically controlled by workers themselves.
Conditions in long-term care facilities, which were often grim even before the pandemic, have become truly horrific. Half of those who have died from COVID-19 in Illinois, 5,782, were residents at LCTFs. According to figures from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) website, there have been at least 181 COVID-19-related deaths at Infinity’s 13 facilities, and at least 1,401 positive cases. Nine of the facilities are listed as having currently open outbreaks.
One facility in particular, Niles Nursing and Rehabilitation, accounted for 54 deaths, more than any other LTCF in Illinois, and workers said at least 30 staff members contracted COVID-19. Another, the City View Multicare Center in the Chicago suburb of Cicero, registered 249 cases and 15 deaths. One of two Infinity facilities not on strike, Belhaven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, has an open outbreak with 101 cases and nine deaths so far.
Despite the well-known and life-threatening danger to both staff and residents, workers at Infinity are not provided with adequate PPE, with one worker, Jackie Abdulebdeh, telling the Chicago Sun-Times she is only given one mask per workday.
Workers are angry that Infinity received $12.7 million in federal aid through the CARES Act and is looking for more, even as it forces workers to live in poverty and does the bare minimum to protect them from COVID-19.
Clear data on deaths among nursing home workers has been difficult to determine, similar to the situation in virtually every other work sector, with the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) under Trump refusing to maintain any central figures or do anything to protect workers. According to a CNN report from July 23, one government estimate put the figure at “more than 600 workers at around 400 facilities.” In all likelihood this is a vast undercount of the deadly toll the virus is taking on workers.
Even with the dire conditions at these facilities and the evident militancy of many workers in fighting not only for themselves but for better conditions for their residents, SEIU’s conference call with its members Sunday indicated many were skeptical about whether undertaking a strike led by the union is worth the lost pay, and whether they will be protected by SEIU if they are singled out by the company. Workers will receive just $50 per day in strike pay, even less per hour than they currently make, and only if they show up for four hours of picketing.
SEIU’s Andrich repeated the union’s mantra, “It would have been better to get a contract without a strike,” evidently wishing that Infinity had just gone along with the deal SEIU worked out in May with the Illinois Association of Health Care Facilities (IAHCF). In that struggle, despite having secured a strike vote by a wide margin, SEIU rammed through a contract that left workers without adequate PPE and with base wages that would not allow them to afford a one-bedroom apartment. The agreement provided for only $2 per hour in COVID-19 hazard pay and just five extra sick days for workers who contract the disease.
As anger has mounted among health care and other low-wage workers in the face of intolerable and life-threatening working conditions, SEIU has worked to sabotage one struggle after another in recent months. In June, SEIU Local 1000 agreed to an over 11 percent pay cut for 96,000 state government workers in California, including nurses. In the Twin Cities, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota canceled a two-day strike in September at Allina Health after being threatened with legal action, and in October SEIU ended a five-day strike at Alameda Health System without a contract.
Closely tied to the Democratic Party, the SEIU has promoted the lie that Democrats are fighting on workers’ behalf, with Andrich even claiming that Illinois’ billionaire Governor J.B. Pritzker and other politicians are “with us.” The reality is that Pritzker has enforced the demands of the corporations to continue production at non-essential manufacturing facilities during the pandemic just as much as his Republican counterparts in other states, with the result that industrial work sites have been the source of roughly 30 percent of Illinois’ COVID-19 outbreaks.
Moreover, it should be recalled that Illinois’ last Democratic governor, Pat Quinn, pushed through $1.6 billion in cuts to Medicaid in 2012, further starving resources for health care for the state’s poorest.
In order to prevent this strike from being shut down and ending in a sellout contract, nursing home workers should follow the lead of autoworkers and teachers and form rank-and-file safety committees, independent of SEIU, in order to wage a fight for decent pay, safe and humane working conditions, and the resources necessary to provide dignified care to the elderly and those with long-term needs. Such a committee should raise the following demands:
Workers who spoke to the World Socialist Web Site said they are currently paid around $13 per hour and are demanding raises of about $2 per hour. This would bring CNAs up to a starting pay of $15.50 across the state, still a poverty wage and barely above Chicago’s minimum, which is set to rise to $15 in 2021. Pay for non-CNA workers would rise to $14.50 outside of Chicago and $15 at facilities located in Chicago.
According to the SEIU Healthcare Illinois-Indiana union, Infinity management has refused to bring worker pay in line with the paltry increases the union negotiated earlier at 100 facilities with about 10,000 workers. In a conference call with workers Sunday, Shaba Andrich, the union’s vice president for nursing homes, said that Infinity is offering only a $15.15 starting wage for new CNAs, a $0.25 per hour raise for those making above that, and a yearly raise of only $0.10 per hour.
Striking workers should take warning: While posturing as fighting for low-wage workers, the SEIU has over many years perfected the art of negotiating sellout contracts for its highly exploited members, tamping down worker militancy and enforcing management’s demands. In order to conduct a real fight to secure both their needs and those they care for, striking workers should take the struggle out of the hands of SEIU and move to elect rank-and-file strike committees, democratically controlled by workers themselves.
Conditions in long-term care facilities, which were often grim even before the pandemic, have become truly horrific. Half of those who have died from COVID-19 in Illinois, 5,782, were residents at LCTFs. According to figures from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) website, there have been at least 181 COVID-19-related deaths at Infinity’s 13 facilities, and at least 1,401 positive cases. Nine of the facilities are listed as having currently open outbreaks.
One facility in particular, Niles Nursing and Rehabilitation, accounted for 54 deaths, more than any other LTCF in Illinois, and workers said at least 30 staff members contracted COVID-19. Another, the City View Multicare Center in the Chicago suburb of Cicero, registered 249 cases and 15 deaths. One of two Infinity facilities not on strike, Belhaven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, has an open outbreak with 101 cases and nine deaths so far.
Despite the well-known and life-threatening danger to both staff and residents, workers at Infinity are not provided with adequate PPE, with one worker, Jackie Abdulebdeh, telling the Chicago Sun-Times she is only given one mask per workday.
Workers are angry that Infinity received $12.7 million in federal aid through the CARES Act and is looking for more, even as it forces workers to live in poverty and does the bare minimum to protect them from COVID-19.
Clear data on deaths among nursing home workers has been difficult to determine, similar to the situation in virtually every other work sector, with the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) under Trump refusing to maintain any central figures or do anything to protect workers. According to a CNN report from July 23, one government estimate put the figure at “more than 600 workers at around 400 facilities.” In all likelihood this is a vast undercount of the deadly toll the virus is taking on workers.
Even with the dire conditions at these facilities and the evident militancy of many workers in fighting not only for themselves but for better conditions for their residents, SEIU’s conference call with its members Sunday indicated many were skeptical about whether undertaking a strike led by the union is worth the lost pay, and whether they will be protected by SEIU if they are singled out by the company. Workers will receive just $50 per day in strike pay, even less per hour than they currently make, and only if they show up for four hours of picketing.
SEIU’s Andrich repeated the union’s mantra, “It would have been better to get a contract without a strike,” evidently wishing that Infinity had just gone along with the deal SEIU worked out in May with the Illinois Association of Health Care Facilities (IAHCF). In that struggle, despite having secured a strike vote by a wide margin, SEIU rammed through a contract that left workers without adequate PPE and with base wages that would not allow them to afford a one-bedroom apartment. The agreement provided for only $2 per hour in COVID-19 hazard pay and just five extra sick days for workers who contract the disease.
As anger has mounted among health care and other low-wage workers in the face of intolerable and life-threatening working conditions, SEIU has worked to sabotage one struggle after another in recent months. In June, SEIU Local 1000 agreed to an over 11 percent pay cut for 96,000 state government workers in California, including nurses. In the Twin Cities, SEIU Healthcare Minnesota canceled a two-day strike in September at Allina Health after being threatened with legal action, and in October SEIU ended a five-day strike at Alameda Health System without a contract.
Closely tied to the Democratic Party, the SEIU has promoted the lie that Democrats are fighting on workers’ behalf, with Andrich even claiming that Illinois’ billionaire Governor J.B. Pritzker and other politicians are “with us.” The reality is that Pritzker has enforced the demands of the corporations to continue production at non-essential manufacturing facilities during the pandemic just as much as his Republican counterparts in other states, with the result that industrial work sites have been the source of roughly 30 percent of Illinois’ COVID-19 outbreaks.
Moreover, it should be recalled that Illinois’ last Democratic governor, Pat Quinn, pushed through $1.6 billion in cuts to Medicaid in 2012, further starving resources for health care for the state’s poorest.
In order to prevent this strike from being shut down and ending in a sellout contract, nursing home workers should follow the lead of autoworkers and teachers and form rank-and-file safety committees, independent of SEIU, in order to wage a fight for decent pay, safe and humane working conditions, and the resources necessary to provide dignified care to the elderly and those with long-term needs. Such a committee should raise the following demands:
Adequate PPE and staffing levels in all long-term care homes across the state of Illinois, overseen by rank-and-file safety committees working with trusted medical experts
A doubling of base wages and substantial hazard pay for all health care workers
Fully paid sick leave with no penalties or restrictions during the pandemic and free health care for all workers
A massive infusion of resources, not into the bank accounts of the nursing home companies and investors but toward meeting the needs of the workers and the elderly.
Infinity Healthcare, like much of the LTCF industry, reaps its profits at the expense of the lives and health of its workers and residents. The utter disaster playing out in these facilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic only underscores the failure of the capitalist profit system. The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) calls for the trillions of dollars handed over to the giant banks and corporations to be redistributed in order to fund free, universal health care, and for the health system to be placed under democratic, public control, run to meet social need, not private profit.
The SEP and WSWS will do everything possible to assist Infinity workers in the organization of rank-and-file committees and formation of connections with other sections of workers—in health care, auto manufacturing, public education, logistics and elsewhere—to launch a common struggle for workers’ rights. We urge nursing home workers to contact us today.
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