Unionized California Home Workers Replaced with Non-Union Staff

Oakland, CA Does California labor law come into play when unionized workers without a contract suddenly find themselves replaced with non-union staff after staging a brief strike? That's the question at least 38 former employees of the Piedmont Gardens and Grand Lake Gardens senior care homes in Oakland are asking after they were handed their walking papers earlier this month.

The Contra Costa Times reports that about 150 members of Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers who are employed at the two senior care facilities staged a five-day strike starting Monday, August 2 and ending that Friday. The Times reported on 8/9/10 that the union had been bargaining since February over the terms of a new contract after the previous contract expired on April 30.

At the time of the strike, the workers were without a contract. It should be noted that a previous strike in 2007 lasted only two days, and that the employees returned to their jobs without incident.

This time, when employees returned to work on August 7, at least 38 workers at Piedmont Gardens were told their services were no longer required. They were granted a place in a "preferential rehire list," but they were out of a job.

It is reported the laid-off unionized workers were replaced with non-union employees. An attorney for the operator of the facilities, American Baptist Homes of the West, suggested the facility was required to replace the workers in the absence of any assurances from the union that the workers would stop striking.

However, a spokesperson for the unionized workers said that facility management was notified in advance of the strike and management assured the union that workers would not be fired.

"We've never had this problem before," said Gloria McNeal, a certified nursing assistant who has worked at Piedmont Gardens for 21 years. "But there was a different administration."

It was also reported that workers who were picketing on August 2 were complaining that the company targeted workers who voiced concerns with regard to management policies. Employees have allegedly been terminated for taking five or more sick days a year.

A spokesperson for the union, Jarad Kings, told local media that American Baptist Homes of the West violated federal labor laws by replacing unionized with workers with non-unionized staff. It remains to be seen whether any provisions of California labor law were violated, and whether or not the union or displaced workers launch legal action to pursue reinstatement. Both sides have expressed optimism that their differences could be resolved.