CT nursing home workers postpone planned strikes
By Susan Haigh
Unionized nursing home workers agreed to postpone strikes planned for Friday at 26 facilities across Connecticut after Gov. Ned Lamont s administration reached an agreement with union leaders and nursing homes operators that includes $267 million in state funds to help pay for historic wage increases.
The workers including nurses, nurses aides, housekeeping staff and laundry workers have threatened to walk out over what they call poverty-level wages and dangerously low staffing levels.
Lamont announced during a COVID-19 briefing with reporters Thursday afternoon that his administration had reached a “basic agreement” with the nursing home operators and the union. While the state is not a party to the talks, it plays a crucial role because it provides the bulk of nursing home revenues through Medicaid payments.
By Keith Phaneuf, Jenna Carlesso, CT Mirror
Gov. Ned Lamont reached a deal between the state’s largest health care workers’ union and the nursing home industry late Thursday afternoon that would avert a strike Friday at 26 facilities.
The agreement came two hours after the administration sweetened its offer to fund the industry in the next state budget.
“We have a basic agreement, which is a four-year deal, to put 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,” Lamont said at 4:20 p.m. as he opened his televised briefing on the state’s coronavirus containment efforts. “And they will be getting a significant raise over the next four years.”
Lamont: Basic agreement in place to avert nursing home strike
Julia Bergman
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1of3A magnet is displayed on a car parked at RegalCare nursing and rehabilitation center in Greenwich, Conn. Tuesday, May 11, 2021. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has asked the head of the Connecticut National Guard to put 50 troops on standby to help oversee the 33 facilities that would be affected by 3,400 nursing home workers walking off the job Friday morning.Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut MediaShow MoreShow Less
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Gov. Ned Lamont greets Jeanne Peters, 95, a rehab patient at The Reservoir, a nursing facility in West Hartford, after she was given the first COVID-19 vaccination at the nursing home Friday, Dec. 18, 2020. The home, owned by Genesis HealthCare, is among those where a strike has been authorized.Stephen Dunn / Associated PressShow MoreShow Less
Lamont: Basic agreement in place to avert nursing home strike
Julia Bergman
FacebookTwitterEmail 3
1of3A magnet is displayed on a car parked at RegalCare nursing and rehabilitation center in Greenwich, Conn. Tuesday, May 11, 2021. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has asked the head of the Connecticut National Guard to put 50 troops on standby to help oversee the 33 facilities that would be affected by 3,400 nursing home workers walking off the job Friday morning.Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut MediaShow MoreShow Less
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Gov. Ned Lamont greets Jeanne Peters, 95, a rehab patient at The Reservoir, a nursing facility in West Hartford, after she was given the first COVID-19 vaccination at the nursing home Friday, Dec. 18, 2020. The home, owned by Genesis HealthCare, is among those where a strike has been authorized.Stephen Dunn / Associated PressShow MoreShow Less
Lamont: Basic agreement in place to avert nursing home strike
Julia Bergman
FacebookTwitterEmail 3
1of3A magnet is displayed on a car parked at RegalCare nursing and rehabilitation center in Greenwich, Conn. Tuesday, May 11, 2021. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has asked the head of the Connecticut National Guard to put 50 troops on standby to help oversee the 33 facilities that would be affected by 3,400 nursing home workers walking off the job Friday morning.Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut MediaShow MoreShow Less
2of3
Gov. Ned Lamont greets Jeanne Peters, 95, a rehab patient at The Reservoir, a nursing facility in West Hartford, after she was given the first COVID-19 vaccination at the nursing home Friday, Dec. 18, 2020. The home, owned by Genesis HealthCare, is among those where a strike has been authorized.Stephen Dunn / Associated PressShow MoreShow Less