(WWJ) SEIU Healthcare Michigan union members gathered in Detroit this Labor Day to encourage union members to vote in the upcoming election, and to fight for better working conditions.
The SEIU represents about 14,000 nursing home and hospital workers statewide.
Members gathered at the Spirit of Detroit statue Monday afternoon for the rally, “My Vote Is Essential.”
“Detroit nursing home workers, most of whom are black women, recently planned to strike, demanding that living wages, safe staffing, paid family leave, proper PPE and healthcare be a part of their contracts,” an SEIU press release said. “Since the averted strike, nursing home owners have been less than fair.”
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reports 4,464 nursing home staff members in the state have tested positive for the coronavirus since March. 21 have died of the virus.
Andrea Acevedo, President of SEIU Healthcare Michigan, told WWJ’s Jon Hewett: “We’re sixty days from the election that is the fight for our lives, and it’s important that everyone be aware of that. That all our members be engaged in this election.”
“They (the members) will turn their movement’s momentum into action by organizing their communities, registering voters, encouraging families and co-workers to show up for racial and economic justice on November 3 and elect worker-friendly candidates on the ballot,” the release stated.