Members of SEIU 2015 will mobilize across California to demand that a Quality Standards Board be a part of the State Budget to address dangerously low staffing levels and low wages. This is the fifth statewide day of action calling for improvements in California’s nursing homes this year.
Today’s actions are part of a coordinated, sustained campaign across 12+ states to demand national industry wide reform
WHEN:
Wednesday, June 8th
4:00 – 6:00 pm
WHERE:
California Association for Healthcare Facilities
2201 K St Sacramento, CA 95814
WHO:
Nursing home workers and supporters; SEIU Local 2015 President April Verrett, SEIU Local 2015 Executive Vice President Kim Evon, SEIU President Mary Kay Henry
WHAT:
Nursing home workers and supporters will gather at the California Association for Healthcare Facilities to advocate for legislation providing higher industry standards, safe staffing levels, and increased wages.
Participating SEIU 2015 members are available for interviews.
SEIU 2015, the nation’s largest long-term care union, represents more than 400,000 nursing home and home care workers in California. These frontline workers have cared for our communities’ most vulnerable, yet are faced with low wages and inadequate protections and benefits. COVID has exacerbated staffing shortages in California’s nursing homes, and workers are quitting at alarming rates. These essential workers are calling for safe staffing levels, improved working conditions, and better pay and benefits to address skyrocketing turnover in the facilities.
This spring, SEIU Local 2015, in partnership with California State Senator Henry Stern and Assemblymember Miguel Santiago, proposed a statewide Quality Standards Board to establish a number of industry-wide standards for California’s nursing homes and their essential workers, including setting an industry-wide minimum wage standard for all nursing home employees, implementing safe staffing requirements, and strengthening benefits.
Now, they’re also taking their fight to a national level in a coordinated and sustained campaign that will include worker mobilizations, advocacy and investment aimed at reaching the Biden Administration, state officials, and nursing home employers directly. The Biden Administration has begun proposing measures to improve nursing home jobs and hold employers accountable, in part because nursing home workers have raised their voices directly to administration officials to demand reform.
Press Contacts:
DKC News
SEIU@dkcnews.com
On Site Contacts:
Marcus McRae
213-359-2372