Progress Ohio | Lorraine'sBlog: UFCW Nursing Home Workers On Strike

UFCW Nursing Home Workers On Strike

By Lorraine Bieber - Jun 24th, 2008 at 5:33 pm EDT

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Categories: Action Alerts, Workers' Rights

UFCW Caregivers at Liberty Liberty Hillside Acres Nursing Home in Willard, Ohio are on strike, and they need your help.

Caregivers at the Liberty Liberty Hillside Acres Nursing Home are now on strike as a result of the unfair and insulting proposal from owner Linda Black-Kurek, President of LBK Health Care Inc.

The caregivers are asking for a fair contract with a living wage and affordable health care.

Voice your support for the caregivers by sending a message to Linda Black-Kurek

These caregivers would rather be providing care to the residents than walking a picket line. But they also have families and need to pay rent, put gas in their cars to get to work, and they need affordable health care.

Can the UFCW Caregivers count on help from Progress Ohio members like you?

You can help the caregivers by contacting Linda Black-Kurek and let her know you are outraged that such a successful home is unwilling to share its success with its employees. Let her know that paying these employees a fair wage and affordable health care is a necessary cost of doing business, especially with the quality of care these workers provide.

Click here to send a message to Linda Black-Kurek

Thanks for your support!

UFCW and ProgressOhio

Reader Comments

Comment Received Via Email

By Dave Harding, ProgressOhio Jun 25th 2008 at 7:02 am EDT

I was a Psychotherapist in nursing homes for 6 yrs. I am ouraged about
the nursing homes in Ohio. The corporations have taken over the nursing
home industry and it is all about profit w/ minimal State standards and
minimal quality care. Willard is just one of the many nursing homes
ripping off the elderly. Did you know that the salaries of African
employees in nursing homes [ imported from countries such as Nigeria ]
are subsidized by the Federal Govt.? This allows them to hire
substandard people at minimum cost to them. I certainly, as an American
& person of color myself, am not opposed to legal immigration of any
nationality, however, I am very opposed to displacing American workers
and replacing them w/ foreign workers who , for the most part, are not
committed to our elderly, have a lack of adherence to our culture, and
most are disrespectful towards American white & black elderly. [ No,
unbeknownst to many, African born immigrants are worlds apart in culture
from American Blacks, and there is a disdain & contempt for American
born blacks due to their mixed ancestry.] The nursing homes can get
these people cheap, and these employees will not support any effort to
get Unions in the homes to help w/ the very problems Willard is having.
The State standards are minimal at best and they are often not met until
a state inspection is scheduled. I do not know the composition of the
employees in this home, but the problems are universal & generic to all
nursing homes. Until the state of Ohio , its legislature and General
Assembly gets off its conservative and insensitive butt and
investigates the outrageous neglect of our elderly in nursing homes,
things will continue to get worse. You cannot imagine the gross neglect
that occurs in these homes in our country, State and local communities.
Make the greedy Corporations accountable!

SW

Immigration & nursing home concerns

By OHliz Jun 25th 2008 at 7:30 am EDT

Thanks for commenting. It's amazing what we don't know until an informed person like yourself makes their views known.

Re: Immigration & nursing home concerns

By User from Franklin, OH Aug 17th 2008 at 10:27 am EDT (Updated Aug 17th 2008 at 10:27 am EDT)

I fully support the strike.I work for a Nursing Home under the oppresive rule of Linda Black as well,and let me share with you some of the stuff going on their.After Liberty took over the home she held a meeting with all staff.In the meeting she promised "ALL" of us that our years working for the previous companies would be honored,and we would lose no vacation time after a year.Well a year has passed and let me tell you she has screwed us all over.People that have been working hard in this home for 15 + years are only getting a portion of their vacation time.To make it worse,the aides have been cut down dramaticly,and proper care is not being given.The director of nursing,along with her assistance are grossly underqualified for their posistions.In dietary,outside employee's are being brought in from other Liberty homes receiveing their "full" vacaction time.While the people that have worked hard in the home for years recieve less vacation than people that have been working for the company barely six years.It's pathetic.To make it worse,our checks have been messed up for the past two months,not correctly stating our vacaction or personal hours.Many of us have come to the conclusion that we will lose getting paid out on our personal hours,and don't even know when we can take a vacation.The head of payroll is grossly underqualified for her job as well.

These homes have hard workers and great residents who are suffering so someone can make a quick dollar.I hope Linda Black wakes up and see's her homes are not being run right.