More than five dozen Metro Detroit nursing home workers are beginning a strike Monday morning (October 19), citing unsafe practices during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The strike involves more than 60 employees of Four Seasons Rehabilitation and Nursing Home, saying they don’t feel safe after residents and employees have tested positive for the novel coronavirus CBS Detroit reported Monday.
“Putting residents at risk they put us all on the same unit and sometimes we’re unaware of who has it,” Carolyn Cole, a worker at Four Seasons Rehabilitation and Nursing Home, said to the station. She added, “the owner will not come to the table and negotiate with us.”
The workers planned to strike earlier in the year, but delayed it 30 days because Gov. Gretchen Whitmer urged contract negotiations, WXYZ reported.
“Governor Whitmer said it best: ‘With COVID-19 cases in Michigan on the rise, we cannot allow our most vulnerable patients to lack vital care.’ But nursing home owners have refused to come to an agreement that would equip us to provide the care our residents deserve,” Cole said in a news release. “We’re going on strike because if our workplace isn’t up to standard, both workers and residents suffer.”
Photo: Getty Images