Two Las Vegas home care companies have hired anti-labor consultants to pressure workers and thwart ongoing unionization efforts, local organizers said.
In late November, SEIU Local 1107 alleged that two home care services companies, A Helping Hand and Everyday Miracles, hired H. Sanford, a Las Vegas-based anti-union consulting firm. Rudnick & Associates “To spread fear, lies, and division among workers in an attempt to prevent them from voting to join the union.”
Home care workers at both agencies had requested union elections through the National Labor Relations Board.
of nevada current A Helping Hand and Everyday Miracles have been contacted for comment regarding the accusations of attempted union busting. In a brief email Tuesday, Everyday Miracles did not directly respond to any of the accusations, but said the company had “fired Sandy,” referring to Sanford Rudnick, also known as Sandy. The statement did not go into details, but acknowledged that a union vote was coming.
Everyday Miracles employees will receive ballots this week, and the ballots will be returned in early January, according to the NLRB notice. The NLRB lists Everyday Miracles as having 184 employees, but the union sought will include only personal care assistants.
A helping hand did not respond to that. the currentRequest for comment from. Employees were sent election ballots by mail the week of Thanksgiving, and the ballots are expected to be returned next week, according to the NLRB notice. The company employs 75 people.
Mr. Rudnick, the consultant, did not respond to requests for comment about his involvement with home care agencies. But the company boasts on its website that it has defeated more than 1,000 union elections in 40 years, and says it can provide customers with “videos that convince employees to vote against the union in 15 minutes.” I promise.
The Economic Policy Institute estimates spending by employers across the country. At least $433 million annually Regarding efforts to crush labor unions. One common strategy used is to hold mandatory one-on-one or group “captive audience meetings.” There, employers, managers, or highly paid consultants express anti-union sentiment, issuing exaggerated warnings that unions are to the detriment of the entire company. They can collapse or mislead workers about their union dues burden.
The NLRB ruled last month: Meeting with a captive audience Currently, it is prohibited if the employee is required to attend under threat of discipline or termination. A release from the NLRB summarizing the ruling states that mandatory attendance “demonstrates the employer's economic power over the employee and tends to reasonably inhibit the free exercise of the employee's rights.” It's dark.
Employers may still hold meetings to encourage refusal of union representation, but workers must voluntarily attend such meetings without fear of adverse consequences for not attending. . Additionally, workers are to be given reasonable advance notice of the subject matter of such meetings, and employers are prohibited from keeping records of attendance at such meetings.
The SEIU alleged that the home care agency distributed misleading flyers to workers.
“It's incredibly frustrating to see home care agencies spend precious resources on toxic anti-union campaigns instead of listening to workers' calls for a union,” union representatives wrote last year. said Regina Brown-Ross, a home care worker who voted yes. In a statement.
More than 1,000 home care workers in Nevada voted to join SEIU Local 1107 in the past year, the union said.
Brown-Ross continued, “Home care agencies should work with us, not against us, to achieve our common goals of improving funding and building a robust workforce.” In fact, a few very bad apples are holding the whole industry back.”
Nevada already has a well-documented shortage of home care workers, and if left unaddressed, the shortage will worsen. expected to worsen As the overall population ages and the demand for elderly care services increases.
Last year's SEIU succeeded in lobbying legislators It would set a minimum wage of $16 an hour for home care workers and increase the state's Medicaid reimbursement rate for employers by 42%.
In addition to “A Helping Hand” and “Everyday Miracles,” several other Las Vegas home care agencies also suggest formal steps have been taken to organize workers, according to NLRB filings. has been done.
