Workers returned to Sunnyside Convalescent Hospital in Fresno, CA, Wednesday after a six-week strike netted them at least the medical minimum wage and a wage scale based on seniority. The 99-bed facility stayed open throughout.
The sides forged a one-year deal, and will resume bargaining in nine months, according to a spokesman for the workers’ union, SEIU 2015.
“That seniority thing is a big deal,” said Terry Carter, the union spokesman. “It accrues from the date of employment at the facility, regardless of any change in ownership.”
Sunnyside’s owner, Mario Marasigan, did not respond to requests for comment from McKnight’s Long-Term Care News and local media.
Sunnyside workers struck Oct. 6, complaining of unsafe working conditions, pay at less than minimum wage and bounced paychecks.
Maria Xiquin, SEIU 2015’s regional director for the Central Valley and Central Coast, said that SEIU 2015 asked the state Department of Health Care Services to audit Sunnyside’s wages. SEIU 2015 represents more than 400,000 long-term care workers in California.
The Bee confirmed the state’s audit found Sunnyside’s management was paying employees less than the required 58 cents above the state’s $15 minimum hourly wage for non-medical staff and 78 cents above that for medical staff.
Workers said they went on strike when Sunnyside management ignored their demands for better pay and working conditions. The strike was just the latest labor stoppage in a year full of nursing home workers flexing their power.
Sunnyside workers held an initial one-day strike in September. With no progress, the staff returned to the picket lines, and during the six-week strike, some strikers and their supporters fasted in protest at a local park.
