Bannister workers end three-day strike, no new negotiations set

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AFTER THREE days straight of striking, workers at Bannister Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Providence went back to work on Monday morning with no new negotiations set. / PBN PHOTO/ ALEXA GAGOSZ

PROVIDENCE – After three days straight of striking, workers at Bannister Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Providence went back to work on Monday morning.

The union that represents these 100 workers, Service Employees International Union District Healthcare 1199 New England, demanded safer staffing standards, more-affordable health care, better training and wage increases.

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According to SEIU, no new negotiations between the union and Bannister’s parent company Centers Health Care in New York have been set.

“The workers have expressed if Bannister doesn’t do the right thing they are prepared to go on an unlimited strike,” said Adanjesus Marin, Lead Organizer of the Lifelong Care Team.

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According to union spokeswoman Amelia Abromaitis, 97 out of 100 workers walked the picket line during the three-day strike.

Care Health Centers spokesman Jeffrey Jacomowitz said Bannister had hired temporary workers during the three-day walk out that had started on Friday to “provide safe and professional care.”
Jacomowitz would not comment on how many temporary workers were hired or how much it cost Bannister or Care Health Centers to bring additional workers into the facility.
“As contract negotiations continue, we cannot comment any further at this time,” said Jacomowitz.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Bannister has had 15 to 20 COVID-19 related fatalities, according to data provided by the R.I. Department of Health, and 90 to 94 cumulative resident cases.
“We made the difficult decision to strike because we feel that management is putting us at risk each day by refusing to give us safe staffing, especially during the pandemic,” said Tenah Nimmo-Powell, who works as a certified nursing assistant and supply clerk, and contracted COVID-19 from working at Bannister. “We need the company owners who sit behind desks in New York to start valuing the safety of caregivers and residents. We need more staff, better wages and health care we can afford.”

Alexa Gagosz is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Gagosz@PBN.com. You may also follow her on Twitter at @AlexaGagosz.

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