More than 4,000 union workers in Pennsylvania picketed outside of nursing homes Tuesday in protest of what they said are decades-old nursing regulations in need of updating.
Service Employees Union International Healthcare Pennsylvania is the state’s largest labor union for nurses and healthcare workers, representing almost 45,000 nurses, professional and technical employees, direct care workers and service employees across all facets of the healthcare industry.
In February, members requested that the state update its nursing home regulations related to staffing, worker retention and workplace conditions. The picketing is the result of what they said is inaction by the legislature.
According to the union, nursing home regulations should increase the minimum staffing requirement from 2.7 hours of care per day per resident to 4.1 hours of care per day. Workers also are seeking better union contracts, which they said would help retain nursing home staff and provide more protections for residents when nursing homes are sold or undergo a change of ownership.
