A collection of certified nursing aides held up signs on Route 209 in Pottsville on Thursday urging the nursing home they work for to "improve resident care" while urging motorists to "honk."
Holding up a star-spangled sign with the message, "Honk for better quality care," Julie Barket, Orwigsburg, was among them.
"Weekends are terrible. We can use more staff," Barket said.
Barket was among the nursing home workers at Golden Living Center-York Terrace, Pottsville, who joined thousands of nursing home workers, members of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, in "the largest statewide nursing 'Day of Action' in the union's history," according to Amelia Abromaitis, director of communications at SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
"This is the first time I remember the union doing an informational picket here and I've been here 12 years. And this was on their own time. No one requested to be off," said Heather Taylor, the director of nursing at GLC-York Terrace.
Other facilities in Schuylkill County where the information picket took place included Broad Mountain Nursing & Rehabilitation in Frackville, according to John Tarson, the nursing home's administrator.
"There were two of our employees out there. They're within their rights to do that and there were no interruption of services," Tarson said.
For the past half year, Golden Living Center and the union have been negotiating a contract for employees including CNAs and LPNs.
"It's set to expire in the near future," Taylor said Thursday.
"SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania represents roughly 10,000 nursing home workers across the state including county homes. Our union represents 53 workers at York Terrace, who are CNAs, LPNs, dietary, laundry, etcetera," Abromaitis said Wednesday.
"The company is striving to reach a fair and equitable resolution. Of course, we want to preserve quality patient care, protect our employees and offer fair and competitive wages and overtime provisions," Taylor said.
GLC-York Terrace, located at 2401 West Market St., can accommodate 80 residents.
"Right now, our population is in the 70s," Taylor said.
And there are "probably 100 staff," Taylor said.
Employees of GLC-York Terrace who participated in the picket included Amanda Gerber, Port Carbon, Barket and Nicole Marberger, Hegins.
"Our residents aren't receiving the care they deserve or that they need and we're working short staffed," Gerber said.
While standing on the edge of Route 209, encouraging motorists to honk their horns, they also handed out fliers made by the union.
It included statements like: "Our industry can afford quality care and quality jobs. The nursing home industry made over $500 million in 2011. We want them to invest more of that money into quality care and quality jobs. We are the ones who provide the bedside care, feed the residents, clean the buildings and make a difference every day in residents' lives. We love our jobs and want to be able to afford to keep working here."
"Their goal is to raise public awareness about the challenges they face on the job and send a clear message to their employers: improve resident care and turn nursing home jobs into family sustaining-careers," Abromaitis said.