Prospect Park health care workers press for contract
PROSPECT PARK » The staff at Prospect Park Health and Rehab Center staged an informational picket on Monday to get the word out that they want a fair contract.
Members of the SEIU Healthcare union at Prospect Park took to Chester Pike with signs to show passing motorists that they want a safe and fully staffed workplace as they negotiate a new contract with owner Radiant Senior Care. About 80 union members have been working without a contract since December 2016, while approximately 30 nurses who have voted to unionize have not been able to negotiate a first contract.
The SEIU is advocating for their members — made up of CNAs, housekeepers, and other supportive staff — and the nurses who wish to join them.
“They want, first of all a fair contract … and we’re doing everything we can to settle this,” said SEIU Vice President of Long Term Care Wendell Royster. “We don’t want to picket, we don’t want to be out here and we don’t want to shut down the nursing home. We want to make sure that we can take care of our residents. If we can get it done on our next negotiation date, we’ll get it done.”
According to Royster, negotiations were held most recently in the last week of December, the first week of January, with future negotiation dates of Jan. 24 and an emergency Jan. 30 meeting if need be. On the table are conditions to provide adequate staffing of the 180-bed facility, which Royster claims is never staffed at the levels needed for its census.
“(That) is a safety issue for people who have family members in this building,” said Royster.
Vanita Stevenson, an over 20-year CNA at Prospect Park, said this year has been one of the worst years for staffing at the center.
“If one floor is filled and the other floors are not, they’re going by the whole building; if the whole building is not staffed then everybody works short,” Stevenson said. “That’s a major problem and it’s not fair for the residents, it’s not. Enough is enough.”
Stevenson added, “We can’t give our residents the things that they need at a time that they want and desire. That’s a main problem with me.”
Another issue in the negotiations is acknowledging the nurses’ vote to unionize two years ago. According to Royster, Radiant wanted to hold off for one year on pension contributions, training and education funds to allow the nurses to be part of the union.
“No money is coming out of the employer’s pockets after waiting two years. That’s unacceptable,” said Royster of the proposition. He later added that in the shuffle of a potential sale of Prospect Park to a new owner, having the nurses accepted as part of the union now would prevent another effort to unionize again if ever the center is sold.
While the union has worked with three-year contracts, Royster said at this point he is considering a one-year contract just to get everything settled.
“We are bending to try to make sure we get stuff done,” he said.
Attorney Brandon Williams, who is representing Radiant during the negotiations, could not be reached for comment on Monday.