Bayside nursing home strike ends

Workers at a Bayside nursing home, who first went on strike and were then locked out, are back at work after ratifying a new contract.
Members of Local 342 of the United Food and Commercial Workers returned to Ozanam Hall, a senior care facility that has served the area for 35 years, after agreeing to a new contract that increased their wages and allowed them to keep their current health coverage plan.
The settlement came almost two weeks after the workers walked off the job on Friday, September 8 and were subsequently locked out last Wednesday, September 20. The lockout went into effect after the union offered to go back to work while negotiations continued. The union's offer was made to restore proper health care to residents in the wake of increasing reports of eroding patient care inside the 432-bed nursing home.
Union members manned a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week picket line throughout. The 400 Local 342 caregivers at Ozanam Hall included Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), cooks and other food service personnel, maintenance, housekeeping, and various office clerical employees.
Despite the absence of workers, Ozanam Hall, who received several notices of a possible strike, had remained up and running, barely missing a beat. They filled the void with volunteers, families of patients, management and administration.
&#8220Everybody pulled together,” said June Paley, an administrative assistant and manager at Ozanam Hall. &#8220It really brought us closer together as a management staff and it made us stronger in our mission.”
Still, the senior center was happy to see the strike end. &#8220It's great to have our staff back,” Paley said. &#8220You can't replace people that love the residents. The politics of the union is the politics of the union; it has nothing to do with how we feel about our employees.”