Nursing Home Worker Strike on Tuesday, June 13th, 2023
6:00am strike walk-off, 6:30am speaking program
The Orchards at Redford, 25330 Six Mile Rd, Redford Charter Twp, MI 48240
Media RSVP: Kevin Lignell, kevin.lignell@seiuhealthcaremi.org, 313-403-2697
Redford, Mich. – Over 70 nursing home workers at the Orchards at Redford reissued a notice last Friday announcing their plan to strike the facility on Tuesday, June 13th. The strike notice follows negotiations that have dragged on for months with little progress. The Orchards at Redford pays some of the lowest wages compared to other nursing homes in the region.
“Orchards’ poverty wages makes us feel like we are second class citizens. A CNA like myself has been doing this work for 20 years to get the same starting wages as a brand new CNA at other nursing homes. Dietary and housekeeping workers in this facility still make as little $11/hour. Orchards’ proposals won’t do enough. We can’t provide the care that our residents deserve until we are able to recruit and retain qualified staff with competitive wages,” said Kim Ford, CNA at the Orchards at Redford.
Some workers have even reported buying supplies for residents when the nursing homes supplies have run out.
“I fell in love with cooking as a child and I’ve been cooking with passion for as long as I can remember. I took this job specifically because I was driven to care for our vulnerable residents. I have to cook everything from scratch to every resident’s needs because of dietary restrictions and allergies. Sometimes I even have to buy cooking oil or spices out of my own pocket to ensure residents get the quality meals they deserve. It can be hard work and we deserve to be paid fairly. I want the community to know that we are not only striking for ourselves but for quality care for our residents that we take care of every day,” said Charles Carroll, a cook at the Orchards at Redford for over a year.
On February 16th, over 1,000 nursing home workers from 13 facilities owned by Ciena, Amee Patel, Orchard, Optalis, and Pioneer announced their escalation of contract campaigns to demand living wages, affordable healthcare, and safe staffing. Of the original 13 nursing homes in the announcement, the Orchards at Redford is one of only two of the nursing homes that still need to reach a union contract agreement. Over 600 workers from 9 nursing homes owned by Ciena and Pioneer secured contracts with significant wage increases and more affordable health insurance during the past few months. Despite gains, the Orchards has not offered wages on par with other nursing homes that won contracts.
Workers are asking for community members to come out to support workers and residents on the strike lines daily from 6am to 3pm until they reach a contract.