MAYOR JONES JOINS NURSING HOME WORKERS CONTINUE FIGHT FOR A FAIR WAGE

Sophie Hurwitz | The St. Louis American

“ST. LOUIS — Workers at Blue Circle Rehab and Nursing have complained of unfair treatment and low wages for months now, staging multiple protests as part of the SEIU healthcare workers’ union. 

On Thursday, they went on a one-day unfair labor practices strike, and were supported in rallying outside of Blue Circle Rehab and Nursing by Mayor Tishaura O. Jones and Alderman James Page. 

As of August 1, the north city nursing home had reported 30 COVID-19 cases among its residents and staff, according to the U.S. News and World Report website. Meanwhile, workers say that the nursing home has refused to bargain for a better contract “in good faith.” 

The Reverend Darryl Gray, who regularly joins labor-rights related actions such as these, stated that “It’s beyond time that frontline health care workers receive the respect, the protection and the pay that they deserve” outside the nursing home Thursday. Gray mentioned several of the specific things that the workers were bargaining for: “Workers deserve a voice in the decisions impacting their health & safety on the job, employers who provide proper PPE, safe staffing, and safety protocols, & $15,” he said.”