Workers at a Galesburg nursing home will join their counterparts at 39 other facilities statewide in going on strike a week from Friday, and the COVID-19 Coronavirus is mostly to blame.
The Service Employees International Union’s SEIU Healthcare Illinois says in a statement the employees are walking out May 8th at Aperion Care in Galesburg, along with other facilities largely in the Chicago area but also at other downstate locales.
The union says the employees at the facilities have not been provided improved personal protective equipment, or PPE, nor have they provided other things like advanced safety protocols, hazard pay, or transparency about COVID-19 cases at the facilities.
The union is also calling for a one-year contract at each facility with pay raises putting them at pay above $15 an hour.
We attempted to contact Aperion Care corporate officials for comment, but were unsuccessful. The Illinois Association of Healthcare Facilities, meanwhile, says in a statement SEIU is using a crisis as a negotiating tactic.
