12-05-2025
Union pushes Conn. nursing home strike deadline back to May 27
SEIU1199 workers demonstrating in 2021. (Photo by Yehyun Kim/
The state's largest health care workers' union agreed to push a May 19 strike deadline at 51 Connecticut nursing homes back until May 27, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Friday.
A spokesman for SEIU 1199NE confirmed the delay, which the Lamont administration sought.
'Earlier this week, I met with union leadership representing Connecticut's nursing home and group home workers and expressed to them that I agree that their current wages do not match the value of the service they provide and that I join them in their effort to seek an increase in their compensation,' Lamont said. 'Additionally, I informed them that I believe there is a consensus among legislative leaders who also feel the same and that we are working to negotiate a state budget that includes support for this workforce.'
The governor added that 'Connecticut's nursing home and group home workers do strenuous work on behalf of our most vulnerable residents, and my administration is committed to reaching a positive resolution on their behalf as soon as possible.'
Union president Rob Baril said Friday that 'we had a couple of conversations with the governor's office, and we were extremely clear' about wage and benefit concerns.
The union wants to boost starting pay for caregivers to $25 per hour and, over several years, elevate most employees to about $30 per hour. Most nursing home workers in the state currently earn between $18 and $22 per hour, a wage that leaves many members in poverty.
Though wage and benefit negotiations technically are between private sector nursing homes and their staff, the state often plays a role in resolving labor-management disputes in this industry.
That's because, on average, more than 80% of nursing home revenue involves patients whose care is covered by federal and state Medicaid dollars.
Baril added the Lamont administration indicated it's working hard to identify the resources necessary to bolster wages and benefits. 'We are going to take them at their word,' Baril said.
Providing the type of raises the union seeks would require a major new public investment in nursing homes.
SEIU 1199NE estimates it would require an extra $550 million in Medicaid payments over the next two fiscal years combined, an annual average of $275 million, to fund the improved wages and benefits workers are seeking.
About 50% of Connecticut's Medicaid expenses in most program areas are covered through federal reimbursement, which would make the effective annual cost to the state about $137.5 million.
Meanwhile, Lamont and his fellow Democrats in the General Assembly's majority are already struggling to develop a new state budget that complies with the constitutional cap that keeps most spending growth in line with household income and inflation. They hope to adopt a new two-year state budget before the regular 2025 session ends on June 4.
Earlier this month, the union set a May 19 strike deadline. The potential work stoppage would affect roughly 5,700 nursing home workers.
But this year's state budget negotiations are far most complex than usual, given the uncertain future of Medicaid, a federal health care entitlement program run in cooperation with states.
Congress set a goal of achieving cuts to Medicaid and other programs worth $880 billion over the next decade. Lamont's administration has modeled potential cuts, based on various proposals on Capitol Hill that could cost Connecticut anywhere from $186 million to $880 million per year.
Matthew Barrett, president and CEO of the Connecticut Association of Health Care Facilities, the state's largest nursing home coalition, thanked state and union officials for their continuing efforts to avoid a strike.
'Separating nursing home residents from their caregivers causes real harm and trauma,' Barrett said. 'Workforce development, including wage and benefit enhancements as an employee retention and recruitment policy for both union and non-union employees, is essential to addressing the care needs of Connecticut's dramatically aging population.'
This article first appeared on CT Mirror and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
