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  • Nursing Home Workers Issue 10-day Strike Notice to Pioneer Facilities in Detroit and Wayne

Workers plan to strike on March 6th due to Unfair Labor Practices

DETROIT, Mich. –  Close to 110 SEIU nursing home workers from Pioneer-owned Heritage Manor in Detroit and Pine Creek Manor in Wayne have announced their plan to strike on March 6th if a contract is not reached. This announcement comes after months of little-to-no progress in contract negotiations. 

“There is little to no negotiation happening at the bargaining table, as Pioneer has basically said no to every proposal that the union made. Instead, we are being offered nickel-and-dime wage raises which we feel is insulting to the work we do. It’s time for Pioneer to come to the table with a real wage structure for all employees, affordable benefits, and a paid time off program. If they don’t, we are prepared to walk out on March 6th,” said Colleen Mahony, a licensed practical nurse at Pine Creek Manor in Wayne.

On January 16th, SEIU Healthcare Michigan announced that up to 1,000 nursing home workers were preparing to go on strike. While negotiations have since progressed at many of these facilities, SEIU Healthcare Michigan has made little progress at the Pioneer facilities, instead filing unfair labor practices against Pioneer which include a refusal to bargain and failure to provide information. 

“Black women like me continue to take the brunt of the responsibility of caring for our vulnerable and elderly residents, but we barely make living wages. We have persevered through mental and physical exhaustion, stress, and trauma to protect and care for our residents, but the toll of the past two years has pushed many of us to the limit. Enough is enough. It’s time for Pioneer to deliver a contract that protects, respects, and pays us. We don’t want to strike, but we will do what is necessary to win a contract,” said Cheryl Mitchell, a nursing assistant at Heritage Manor in Detroit. 

SEIU Healthcare Michigan increases organizing activity in hospitals and nursing homes

Close to 300 Respiratory Therapists and Technologists at the University of Michigan’s  University Hospital and C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital have requested Union recognition with SEIU Healthcare Michigan. Healthcare Michigan is the largest Union in the state that represents hospital workers. Recognition would elevate the voices of the Hospital workers to have a greater impact on patient care and workplace conditions. About 80% of University of Michigan frontline workers are currently represented by a union.

Last December, almost 200 Trinity Grand Haven Hospital workers voted to affiliate with SEIU in a unit that includes Diagnostic Imaging Techs, Lab Assistants and Technologists, Housekeepers, Dietary Workers, and Social Workers, Unit Clerks, Patient Care Associates, Medics, and many other positions. In the same month, LPNs at Mission Point of Ishpeming voted to join their coworkers at SEIU. In September, nursing home workers at SKLD Bloomfield who went on strike voted to unionize.