Fall River and Swansea nursing home workers to hold pickets over wages, staffing issues

Swansea & Fall River, MA – Frontline union caregivers at Country Gardens and Carvalho Grove Nursing Homes will hold simultaneous informational pickets Wednesday.

Nursing home workers, who are members of SEIU 1199 New England, state that they have been negotiating unsuccessfully with their employer, Alpha Healthcare, for the last three months.

The union issued the following statement.

“Negotiations have failed to produce any commitment from management for improving wages, benefits and working conditions to lift workers out of poverty and stabilize staff. Low wages and short staffing have forced existing workers to work double shifts to earn enough to pay the bills. 

“Alpha Healthcare purchased both facilities from Bear Mountain in October of 2023. Alpha Healthcare currently owns five other nursing home facilities in Massachusetts. Immediately following the purchase, employees began experiencing significant payroll issues including late pay and checks being deposited into the accounts of other workers.

“Since bargaining began, management has refused to offer workers fair compensation for the difficult work they do, which has compounded the long-standing staffing issues that predated the pandemic. SEIU 1199NE represents around 120 workers at both facilities.”

A comment from Alpha Healthcare wasn’t immediately available.