Oakland County Nursing Home Workers Set To Strike Over Pay, Low Staff

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI — Workers at a Bloomfield Township heath facility are set to strike on Monday morning, saying the facility has failed to guarantee a safe and healthy workplace for workers and patients.

Staff at the SKLD nursing home said they're fighting for better pay that will increase staffing levels to a point where every patient receives quality care, especially since the facility is closed to capacity. They argue one of the reasons why turnover is so high is because of the low pay, despite rising costs.

Kasandra Kemp, a certified nursing assistant at the facility, told Patch staff members try their best to provide patients with compassionate care, but compassion isn’t enough.

"It's very hard to maintain a healthy work environment when you're short-staffed and underpaid," Kemp said. "It's like a tug of war with management to get us the things we need."

Kemp said staff, which includes CNAs, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, receive daily complaints from patients about the lack of kitchen supplies, broken ice machines and outdated televisions.

When workers bring up these complaints, management consistently tells them that there are budget shortfalls preventing the upgrades, something Kemp said workers aren't buying.

"These are the things that are needed. These are necessities," Kemp said. "This is not something we're using to just blow off some steam. This is something that's a problem, it's a problem nationwide."

Patch reached out to management at the SKLD and they did not provide a comment. Patch will update this story if they decide to provide a statement.

Although staff at the facility are not unionized, they are allowed to strike under federal law as long as they give their employer at least a ten-day notice, something workers said was met with retaliation.

Striking workers reported an increase in retaliation and union busting tactics from facility management since they delivered their 10-day strike notice on July 1, including intimidation, interrogation and unreasonable disciplining, according to a news release.

Birmingham representative Mari Manoogian called on the facility to respect their workers’ rights to collectively bargain and join a union without interference.

"Nursing home workers at SKLD Bloomfield Hills have endured the challenges of a pandemic and shown resilience despite being overworked and undervalued for far too long," Manoogian said. "It’s utterly ridiculous that the same unfair labor practices that my father fought against in the 1980s and 1990s are still being deployed today."

According to data shared with Patch, the Bloomfield Hills facility has between 60 and 80 workers, which fluctuate due to temporary workers. The facility also about 144 occupied beds, which is not all the way full, but closed to capacity.

The rally is expected to start at 7 a.m. in front of the facility at 2975 N Adams Rd in Bloomfield Hills.

"We are basically striking to let our voices be heard to let them know we do not feel comfortable," Kemp said. "It is inhumane to feel like you can take care of 20 patients in eight hours. it's not right."