Staff of Fall River and Swansea nursing homes to picket over reported payroll issues

Swansea & Fall River – On Wednesday afternoon frontline staff at Carvalho Grove and Country Gardens nursing homes will hold informational pickets simultaneously to call for an end to what they say is ongoing payroll issues by their new owner, Alpha Healthcare.

District 1199 SEIU New England Union states that since Alpha Healthcare assumed ownership in October of 2023 from Bear Mountain, workers immediately began experiencing payroll issues that included the following: a) pay was days late b) paychecks were deposited in the wrong accounts of other workers c) workers getting calls from their respective banks stating the checks could not be cashed, leading to bank overdrafts and fees.

Alpha Healthcare owns five other nursing home facilities in Massachusetts, according to the union. The organization expressed their frustration.

“Despite staff approaching management repeatedly to resolve the issue, management blamed computer glitches or human error and the issue has continued five months later. For nursing home workers living paycheck to paycheck, it is critical that Alpha Healthcare resolves these issues immediately.”

A contact for the company to get their side on the issue wasn’t immediately available.