CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Caregivers, who have been among the front line workers during the coronavirus pandemic, went on strike Monday morning at nearly a dozen mostly Chicago area nursing homes.
Nearly 700 unionized workers at 11 Infinity Healthcare Management facilities walked off the job Monday, saying they won’t return until the company offers them higher wages and safer working conditions amid a pandemic that has hit nursing homes particularly hard.
The employees said their contract expired in May and their management ended pandemic hazard pay for them in July. According to SEIU, Infinity pays workers base wages well below those of other nursing homes in the Chicago area, despite receiving $12.7 million in COVID-19 funding through the CARES Act.
Two of the 11 Infinity facilities lead the state in COVID-19 nursing home rankings—City View Multi-Care Center has the state’s highest number of infections and Niles Nursing & Rehab Center has the highest number of deaths.
Janice Hill is a certified nurse’s assistant at City View Multi-Care Center in Cicero.
“We suffered the highest COVID outbreak in this facility in Illinois," she said.
Allison Howard said she’s worked for more than 10 years at Infinity’s Southpoint Nursing and Rehabilitation facility on the South Side and has seen nothing like the coronavirus pandemic.
"I have seen my residents, I have seen my coworkers have died in this place," she said.
Howard said Infinity employees deserve to be paid what they’re worth.
"My whole building is red and yellow and [Infinity Healthcare Mangement] says we don’t deserve hazard pay," she said.
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Those on strike include CNAs, housekeepers, cooks, and activity and restorative aides. They’re fighting for at least a $15 an hour starting pay.
Shantonia Jackson works as a CNA at City View Multi-Care Center in Cicero and she said the front line workers are striking for their lives and to stand up for residents.
"Infinity refused to offer hazard pay or deal with the crisis of short-staffing. We’re demanding $15 an hour starting pay, to feel safe at our job and better PPE [Personal Protective Equipment]," she said.
Erica Bland-Durosinmi of the SEIU Healthcare Union said nursing home workers deserve a living wage. "
Nearly two thirds of Infinity workers report that they’ve to work a second job in the past year in order to make ends meet," she said.
WBBM Newsradio has been attempting to contact Infinity Healthcare Management of Illinois for a response.