Last week, 12 workers in the dietary department at the Woodland Grove Health and Rehabilitation Center in Jacksonville, Fla., voted overwhelmingly to join UFCW Local 1625 for a voice on the job. Local 1625 represents over 100 health care facilities in Florida.
“We were tired of the favoritism when it came to raises and working conditions,” said Sha Terri Frazer, a dietary worker. “Only until we reached out to the union did management start talking to us about the problems.”
A few days before the victory at the Woodland Grove Health and Rehabilitation Center, 105 workers at Lanier Terrace, another nursing home in Jacksonville, were granted recognition to be represented by Local 1625.
“Every time a non-union nursing home chooses to be represented by Local 1625, we increase our bargaining power for the whole industry throughout Florida,” said UFCW Local 1625 President Ed Chambers. “We have been able to directly correlate union density in the health care field with improved wages, benefits, and working conditions. Over half of our unionized nursing homes are now participating in union benefit plans, including pension and medical insurance, which signifies our strength in the industry.”