Nursing home strike averted
Thursday, May 4, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* SEIU press release…
Nursing home workers have reached a tentative agreement with nursing home owners for a three-year contract, averting the largest nursing home strike in history.
Through this contract, the owners and management teams at the 103 nursing homes of the Illinois Association of Health Care Facilities recognize 10,000 SEIU Healthcare Illinois members as skilled, dedicated, and irreplaceable employees who provide quality care.
Nursing home workers won important improvements, including:
Significant wage increases. This means nursing home workers will be able to provide for their families while taking care of others.
Staffing provisions to help reduce turnover and increase the quality of care for residents.
The union had planned another rally early this morning and most of the Democratic gubernatorial candidates were expected to attend.
- @misterjayem - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 9:57 am:
Well, if there’s one thing the governor wants to avoid, it’s having Illinois voters Google “Bruce Rauner” and “Nursing Homes”.
– MrJM
- PublicServant - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 9:59 am:
Market forces prevail again.
- Sick & Tired - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:07 am:
Good. People have little idea the toll a nursing home job can take on someone, especially for the inadequate pay. I can only imagine how the residents feel when they know their caretakers are not having their basic needs fulfilled and aren’t as valued as they should be by higher ups.
- Anon221 - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:08 am:
Is there a listing link to the nursing homes that are members of the Illinois Association of Health Care Facilities? I have done the Google, but nothing comes up for that association.
- Langhorne - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:12 am:
WHAT? The union and nursing homes came to an agreement?? Actual negotiations worked. What a concept.
How did that happen, without rauner either taking credit, or scuttling it? Or taking credit for scuttling it?
- Texas Red - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:18 am:
One less hostage; great news for the state. MJM’s influence must be fading
- #5 - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:47 am:
“MJM’s influence must be fading”
Did I totally misread the article? What does MJM have to do with this?
- Cubs in '16 - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 10:57 am:
All AFSCME wants is for their members to not get hit with 100% increases for healthcare, for their jobs to not get privatized, and for step increases going forward. Yet their ‘bargaining’ partner thinks that is totally unreasonable.
This just goes to show that agreements are reached when both sides bargain in good faith.
- Ron - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:14 am:
What is a step increase?
- Cubs in '16 - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:47 am:
===What is a step increase?===
Each state job title has ’steps’ which are bumps in pay related to longevity. These steps are currently frozen so an employee at a lower step is stuck at that pay rate indefinitely. Obviously, the lower the step the lower the pay. These increases are typically annual until the employee maxes out at the highest step.
- Ron - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 12:32 pm:
Thanks, sounds like a good thing that those are frozen. Do a good job and get a raise. Just because you are there a long time doesn’t mean you should earn more.
- don the legend - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 12:41 pm:
Ron. I believe the steps are there since, to use your words, ‘Do a good job and get a raise’ is what used to be called merit increases. You know where the boss decides if you “earned it” regardless of whether you did a good job. The steps prevent the front line employee who doesn’t play politics from getting screwed.
- JS Mill - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 12:43 pm:
=Just because you are there a long time doesn’t mean you should earn more.=
Right, nobody ever gets paid based on experience in the private sector. /s
- Chicago J - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 12:54 pm:
And only the boss’s favorites and those with connections do a good job!
- Cubs in '16 - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 1:17 pm:
Therein lies the rub with regard to automatic step increases. I don’t know if politics could ever be completely removed from state employment. If they went to a purely merit-based system, which Rauner wants to do, some workers deserving of a raise wouldn’t get one. Under the current system, everyone is treated equally. This does create situations where some employees receive raises they’re undeserving of but in the long run I truly believe the current system is more fair. I also believe the vast majority of state workers are competent, hard-working, and dedicated. Some of the criteria we are evaluated on is unfair because staffing levels are so low. When a workforce is stretched thin employees can either do a job well or quickly but not both.
- Me Again - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 1:19 pm:
What many do not know is that around 15 years ago, AFSCME (in addition to fewer general increases) also allowed management to implement three steps below Step 1.
This allowed the state to hire at below market rates. Now that Rauner has frozen step increases, those people are stuck at rock-bottom wages.
- Ron - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 1:37 pm:
Not sure if you all haven’t noticed, but Illinois is broke. We can’t afford to pay them more.
- Hieronymus - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 1:45 pm:
And that’s why so many open state positions go unfilled; there are often better options elsewhere with fewer headaches.
- Ron - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 1:47 pm:
That’s great! More savings!
- Me Again - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 1:52 pm:
@Ron - Illinois is “broke” (as you say) because the citizens of Illinois have elected politicians who gave them just what they wanted - lots of goodies and not nearly enough revenues to pay for them.
Now that the piper has to be paid, you seem to want to default on all the promises that have been made. I think that revenue should be increased and responsible cuts should be made.
- Me Again - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 1:56 pm:
In neglected to say that a lot of those “goodies” were paid for with funds that were really supposed to be going into the pension systems.
- Ron - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 2:11 pm:
Me again, talk to Jim Edgar and Mike Madigan.
- City Zen - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 2:21 pm:
==In neglected to say that a lot of those “goodies” were paid for with funds that were really supposed to be going into the pension systems.==
Goodies such as salaries, raises, health care coverage, promotions, new job openings, etc.
- Me Again - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 2:38 pm:
@Ron - Nice “cop out”!
- HangingOn - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 2:39 pm:
==Goodies such as ==
Do you get paid to work? I’m guessing if you work you expect to get paid. Why would state employees be different? This isn’t a volunteer gig. And I barely make a living wage doing it. I got more raises the 19 years I was in the private sector than I do working for the state. Occasionally got bonuses too. My raises were generally more each year than the 60 cents per hour I didn’t get 2 years ago. Sadly, I was doing better financially when I was on state aid.
- Hieronymus - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 3:04 pm:
So, Ron, in your opinion, what should state administration do to attract and retain quality personnel to deliver government services?
- ejpp - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 3:36 pm:
Ron - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 11:14 am:
What is a step increase?
Yet you are quick to tell everyone what needs to be changed, yet you are uninformed about how the current system functions.
- Hieronymus - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 3:04 pm:
So, Ron, in your opinion, what should state administration do to attract and retain quality personnel to deliver government services?
Maybe Ron can quit his current job and take on a position in state government. Shouldn’t be a problem with what he makes as he continues to purpose cuts and low pay, no pensions to all. Plus the added bonus is he will solve all the problems since he knows everything.
- Anonymous - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 3:59 pm:
Bueller (Ron) … Bueller (Ron) …
- Ron - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 4:06 pm:
The state should privatize the vast majority of its workforce. The state should also eliminate pensions for elected officials.
- Hieronymus - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 5:00 pm:
So, Ron, is that your answer to my question?
Please explain how privatization will attract and retain quality personnel.
- City Zen - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 5:05 pm:
==Maybe Ron can quit his current job and take on a position in state government.==
And become a Tier 2 employee?!
- HangingOn - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 5:37 pm:
==And become a Tier 2 employee?!==
Oh, no. Since he believes all state workers are overpaid he’s going to do it for free and refuse healthcare and pension. Right Ron? I mean, my 35k is way over anything he’d ever make in private sector and on principal he won’t take it.
- Anonymous - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 5:44 pm:
State workers aren’t necessarily overpaid, but their retirement benefits are outrageous. So now, we can’t pay them because we have to feed the pension monster.
- Hieronymus - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 6:10 pm:
Uh, oh. Anonymous @5:44pm just used one of Ron’s two most favorite words. Do you the think that roughly equivalent benefits from entities whose pensions are fully funded are also “outrageous”? If you think so, why?
- HangingOn - Thursday, May 4, 17 @ 6:34 pm:
Yeah, I’m gonna be living high on the hog on $1100 per month when I’m 70…