CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Gov. Lamont says there is a ‘basic agreement’ to avert a strike at nursing homes in Connecticut

Hartford Courant - 5/13/2021

Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday that there is a deal to avoid a strike at dozens of nursing homes in Connecticut.

“I am very hopeful at this point that strike has been averted,’' the governor said at a late afternoon news conference. “The nursing home operators, and [the union representing the workers] have gotten together and we have a basic agreement, which is a four-year deal that puts front and center our nurses who have been there at the nursing homes taking care of our seniors through thick and thin over the last 14 months.”

The breakthrough in the labor dispute came Thursday, after the governor’s office put forth a new four-year package that would increase funding to the nursing home industry by $47.3 million in fiscal 2022 and $121.1 million in fiscal 2023. All of the money would be directed toward wage increases, which would total 4.5% in 2022 and 6.2% the following year.

That’s a bigger increase than the 4.5% percent over each of two years that Lamont offered Monday, as part of what his aides called their “best and final offer” to stave off the strike.

The union had been seeking a commitment for a “long term care workers’ bill of rights,’' that includes raising all wages to a minimum of $20 an hour.

The governor’s latest proposal does not meet that standard.

More than 3,000 unionized healthcare workers at 26 skilled nursing facilities will strike this Friday if they cannot reach an agreement on wages and staffing levels with the owners of the facilities. Additional strikes are planned for May 28 at 13 other nursing homes.

The showdown pitted an industry devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic against the low-wage employees that have had to provide care as the virus raced through their workplace.

The state is not a direct party to the negotiations but it licenses skilled nursing facilities, most of which receive hundreds of millions of dollars in funding primarily through the federal Medicaid program.

Lamont said he hopes both sides will formally accept the deal Thursday night.

The nursing home workforce consists of dietary aides, housekeepers, registered nurses and licensed practical nurses. The bulk of the workers are certified nursing assistants, many of whom earn $12-$15 an hour.

©2021 Hartford Courant. Visit courant.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Nationwide News