In an attempt to fight against bad working conditions and for higher wages and better health insurance coverage, the United Healthcare Workers East, Local 1199 SEIU, went on a three-day strike against three Hudson County nursing homes run by the Omni Corporation and operated by Avery Eisenreich. Although the workers have been without a contract since July 2007, the company has refused to negotiate fairly and have now taken retaliatory action.
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After the weekend strike, 11 workers were unable to return to work the following Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 17 and 18. These workers were all part of the morning shift, which meant, according to union Executive Vice President Milly Silva, more union workers might be affected by the lockout.
“They (Omni Health) are illegally permanently replacing our workers,” Silva said. “This is an attempt to retaliate against workers who are asking for more than a poverty wage,” she added.
Omni Health spokesman Matt Stanton repeatedly claimed that there had been no lockouts for any of the workers at Castle Hill Health Care Center in Union City, Harbor View Health Care Center in Jersey City, and Palisade Nursing Home in Guttenberg.
However, when union member and delegate Rene Jordan showed up for work at Harbor View Health Care Center in Jersey City, she was walked into a room and given a pink slip.
Jordan recounted, “The administrator told me I was replaced,” “[She] said I no longer worked for her and to vacate the premises.” Jordan has worked as a housekeeper at Harbor View for about eight years.
Even with these cases, Stanton insisted that “[t]here has been no lockout whatsoever, and nobody lost their job.” On Sunday, though, Stanton said some workers could “legally be replaced,” a claim union leaders dispute.
The union’s lawyer, Ellen Dichner, said the union workers have the right to return to work after a strike under the National Labor Relations Act.
“Federal law states workers who engage in a legal strike cannot be fired,” Dichner said.
The union is planning to file charges against Omni Corporation and Avery Eisenreich to the National Labor Relations Board, Silva said.
One worker summed up: “No matter how hard he tries, Avery Eisenreich cannot break our spirit and he cannot break our union! Our fight for decent wages and justice continues.”
