Extended Care Reaches Negotiation with Nursing Home Workers

MORENO VALLEY >> Last month, more than 100 nursing home workers picketed outside of Extended Care Riverside to demand that their employers negotiate a contract with them that supports workers and enhances patient care. On July 5, they gathered to vote on an agreement that is favorable to both parties. Key parts of the agreement include funding for educational opportunities to enhance caregiving skills, such as CPR classes; efforts to increase staffing to meet patient care needs, and opportunities for staff growth and development. “Our voices were heard,” said Martha Gonzalez, a Certified Nursing Assistant at Extended Care. “This contract is a win for the staff, the employer and most importantly our patients. I come to work every day for them and I’ve fought for this contract for them. They deserve to have adequate staffing so that all their needs are tended to.” Aguilar has been a CNA for nearly 20 years. Although she has had to tend to up to 15 patients in a given work shift, she says no job is as satisfying as caring for those who are in need. “The people in this facility were once young, independent and able-bodied, like me,” she said. “I enjoy helping and speaking up for them. Simply put, nursing home facilities need to invest in quality care for them and that means investing in the workers that provide that care. While there is still more work to do, this contract ratification is a step in the right direction and a victory for workers and residents at Extended Care.” Extended Care is one of the many facilities in California that nursing home workers are striving to improve care and staffing levels at. SEIU Local 2015 nursing home workers, including those at Extended Care, are currently working to pass a bill, AB 2079, in the state Legislature. This bill addresses the chronic understaffing at nursing home facilities by requiring them to upgrade the amount of care time a patient receives a day. The bill will be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee in August before moving to the Senate Floor for a vote. After the contract ratification vote on July 5, the workers and employers will meet again to finalize the contract.