Labor Battle at Bannister Nursing Home in Providence Heats Up
Thursday, October 07, 2021
Caregivers at Bannister nursing home are charging that the facility is operating with “unsafe staffing and poverty wages.”
The workers at the facility (now branded Bannister Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing) in Providence who are members of SEIU 1199NE have announced an informational picket on Friday, October 8, from 2:00 - 4:00 PM to call on their employer to invest in staffing and wages for frontline caregivers.
This is just the latest union action at the facility.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIn September of 2020, nursing home workers at Bannister House in Providence went on strike over demands for better conditions and higher pay.
Direct caregivers are paid as little as $12 per hour.
"That we have tried to pay them $12 an hour for as long as I can remember is a shame — it’s embarrassing," said Dr. Michael Fine, former Rhode Island Director of the Department of Health on GoLocal LIVE last year. "These are people who need to make a decent living wage."
"They do really hard work, and important work, and darn if that shouldn’t be recognized," Fine added. "And it seems we’ve learned nothing about having a health care system — instead of an industry. When you make it an industry, and make it for-profit, all sorts of abuses will occur. And that’s something I hope we learn something about, and learn something about soon."
Little Has Changed
According to the union, for the last 18 months of the pandemic, frontline caregivers have provided compassionate care to nursing home residents at their most vulnerable. Despite getting sick with COVID-19 and putting their families at risk, Certified Nursing Assistants only earn a starting wage of $12.70 an hour, significantly less than other nearby nursing facilities. Poverty wages exacerbate the pre-existing staffing crisis, hampering recruitment and retention efforts, says SEIU.
Now, instead of compensating workers fairly, Bannister Center is hiring out-of-state agency staff, and paying them nearly double the wages of dedicated staff, according to SEIU, who says that despite having contract language entitling workers to ‘short-staffing pay’, Bannister refuses to meet with union caregivers to negotiate terms and has failed to communicate what percentage of recent Medicaid reimbursement rate increases will go directly to worker compensation.
The action will be held on Friday at the home.
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