Avamere Living, a Eugene Nursing facility, is seen on May 16, 2024. (Alex Hernandez/Emerald)
On May 4, SEIU Local 503 workers and nurses attended the union’s Nursing Home Bargaining Conference in Salem to discuss their priorities in the upcoming negotiation cycle. They built a general plan for what they will be fighting for in their new contract.
Roughly 60 total people attended the conference, highlighting their priorities and building plans to address issues such as struggles with living costs, insufficient wages, staffing shortages and a lack of access to adequate health insurance.
“These are ongoing issues that we [in healthcare] have seen and have lived and worked in,” Sarah Cubba, certified medication aide, said. “We work in healthcare, we take care of people and we have horrible healthcare. This is something that absolutely needs to be fixed; there’s no reason for that.”
Ron Strle, nursing home sector president, was excited to see the turnout of individuals at the conference. Strle has been with the union for eight years as the union steward at his facility and stated that this year’s bargaining campaign was the largest group of people he has seen.
“Our message on this is to respect us, protect us, pay us and staff us,” Strle said. “Our companies made money hand over fist during the pandemic and unfortunately, it didn’t trickle down to the workforce; it just flooded into their profit margin.”
Strle and Cubba said that those in attendance were positive, welcoming, present and enthusiastic to push forth the agenda of wins they’re seeking in the next contract.
“I think the energy was incredible,” Strle said. “Melissa Unger, our executive director, spoke at the conference and really got everybody riled up about talking about our past wins, where we go from here and how we build on those wins.”
According to Sean Staub, organizing director for SEIU Local 503, the conference was an event for members to talk about what they are facing and what they want to see change in their workplaces. He acknowledged the urgency of members’ proposals and their frustration that had built up through the high energy over the course of the day.
“I do think people are pretty frustrated, so I think it’ll really just depend on if they feel like they can get their needs met or not,” Staub said. “People are kind of at the end of their rope despite a lot of wins. It’s just a very challenging, fast-paced [and] high-stress workplace.”
Cubba said that those in healthcare facilities are fighting for each other as much as they’re fighting for their residents. Cubba iterated that residents are the number one priority to workers, and staffing shortages are a large issue they currently face.
“When you’re listening to people tell stories about hardship and the struggles that they deal with, it can be a little frustrating,” Cubba said. “Our stories were so similar and listening to all that and then having that support really felt so warming.”
The next step for attendees is to go back to their workplaces and go over what was discussed during the conference to get everyone on the same page. Cubba noted that the plan is to start gradually by having open communications with all members and understanding their ideas for different proposals.
“Right now, we’re in the process of talking to our coworkers, getting them on board, discussing their wants and their needs, how they see things fitting and getting better at the facilities that we’re representing,” Cubba said.
Members of SEIU Local 503 will continue doing their best to make each member’s voice heard and increase community engagement to support the accomplishments that the union will be fighting for in the upcoming bargaining cycle.
“I do know that we are going to do our best to try to be heard, to get our points across, to talk about our struggles and to try to maybe see if they [the employers] can somehow relate to us,” Cubba said. “We don’t know what to expect. We’re just hoping for something fair and for the best.”
