WHITTIER, Calif., April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Caregivers at Royal Court Health Care in Whittier are fighting back against the union smear campaign underway here.
"We want people to know what's up," said Delia Rodriguez, a restorative nurse aide and certified nursing assistant who says she's deeply offended by union attacks on the Whittier nursing facility's quality of care. "It's not fair that some people in the community just buy the union line without even asking us if what they're saying is true," added Anita Reyes, a certified nursing assistant who has worked at Royal Court for nearly 10 years.

Rodriguez was so outraged by the union's tactics that she and her co-workers started a petition to send a message to the union and the community. The petition states, "We don't want the Union, we don't want to be called and we don't want to be followed home." Several employees have reported harassment from union representatives who have actually followed them home from work at night. Ninety percent of Royal Court's care staff have already signed the petition.

The Oakland-based SEIU-United Healthcare Workers union has been attempting to pressure workers at Royal Court and other long-term care facilities affiliated with the Southern California-based Ensign Group into joining the union. The Southern California workers have overwhelmingly rejected the union's organizing efforts.

Organizers have started a smear campaign aimed at penalizing the workers and the company for refusing to join. "Now they are trying to destroy our facility and our jobs just because we don't want them," said Peter Cruz, an occupational therapist. "We want people to know who these attackers are so that our community is not fooled."

Union operatives, posing as consumer-rights advocates under the pseudonym "Nursing Home Watch," have been recruiting unsuspecting volunteers to canvass parts of Whittier and surrounding areas for their attack campaign. Even some local ministers have become involved. But workers inside Royal Court say that union representatives are not telling Whittier the truth.

"The truth is that Royal Court is an outstanding care facility, and I'd put our care staff up against anyone," said Agnes Zafe, a nurse at Royal Court. The evidence supports Zafe's claim -- the facility is nearly always full, and has one of the best reputations with local doctors and hospitals in the area. Royal Court has also done extremely well on recent Department of Health surveys.

Despite the attacks, it's business as usual inside the facility. Workers confirm that they ultimately view the union tactics as more of an annoyance than a concern. And they say that the entire staff is more unified than ever in their commitment to provide outstanding care for the facility's 157 mostly elderly residents.

"The organizers threatened these attacks if the union didn't get its way," says Rodriguez, smiling. "It's sad that outsiders have been allowed to bring so much divisiveness into our community, but no matter what they do, we'll be here every day, standing together for our residents and our jobs."

For more information on The Ensign Group, visit www.ensigngroup.net. For information on the SEIU's "corporate campaign" strategy against other healthcare workers and companies, visit www.sutterhealth.org/about/labor/ and www.healthleaders.com/magazine/feature1.php?contentid=51458.

Source: Royal Court Health Care