Connecticut Group Home Workers to Strike While Nursing Home Employees Union Sue State for Favoring Management in Contract Dispute
More than 2,000 Connecticut members of the New England Health Care Employees Union, District 1199, who work in private group homes and mental health centers were expected to hold a one-day strike today, calling for higher wages and increased state funding, the AP/Hartford Courant reports. The union's contract with 17 social service agencies expired April 1. The workers intend to hand out petitions to commissioners of the departments of Mental Retardation and Mental Health and Addiction Services and march to the state Capitol to lobby lawmakers for increased funding for private providers, whom the union claims have been "underfunded for years." Agency and state officials have called the strike "premature," noting that the state Legislature still is working on the budget, and some agencies have not yet countered the union's proposals. Dean Pagani, spokesperson for Gov. John Rowland (R), said, "It's unfortunate that 1199 continues to choose a strike as a first option rather than working it out at the negotiating table." He added that the governor has proposed $14 million over two years to increase salaries and benefits for private providers.
Nursing Home Union Sues State
Last month, unionized nursing home workers, also represented by District 1199, staged a similar walkout, which is the subject of a lawsuit in which the union is suing the state for allegedly "favoring nursing home management during the walkout" by giving them $4.6 million in state funds, the AP/Courant reports. Union President Jerome Brown testified in U.S. District Court that the funding "severely affected the union's power to negotiate for a wage increase." The union is asking the court to issue an injunction that would prohibit the state from sending funding to homes during future strikes (AP/Hartford Courant, 4/9). But Michael Starkowski, deputy commissioner with the state Department of Social Services, said the state was "doing what it must to ensure" nursing home residents' safety during the strike, which corresponded with a shortage of health care workers in Connecticut. Starkowski is scheduled to continue his testimony today (Julien, Hartford Courant, 4/10).
