Workers at San Francisco home to strike for five days

A total of 360 workers at the Jewish Home for the Aged in San Francisco will strike for five days over the holiday season to demonstrate against recent benefit cuts and wage freezes by management, union officials said.

The strike will take place from December 23 to December 28. A one-day strike was held on November 22 in an effort to get management to reach a new agreement. According to Local 250 of the Service Employees International Union, Jewish Home management has been unwilling to work with the caregivers, and recently ended contract negotiations by implementing an unapproved contract.

Workers say some staff members' pay levels are wrong. Dietary, housekeeping and laundry workers start at $10.50 an hour, and certified nursing assistants begin working at $12.50 an hour.

In negotiations, workers have sought to preserve benefits and to secure wage increases of 3% per year.