Its a simple question everyone should ask the owner of Livingston Hills Nursing Home - because he wants to take away our current health benefits. It's hard to understand why Jeffrey Vegh thinks that's the right thing to do. After all:

★   We are living in global pandemic, where healthcare workers are critical to treating and caring for seriously-ill COVID-19 patients. COVID-19 has hit frail and elderly nursing home residents and their caregivers especially hard. We put ourselves at risk every day.

★   Without affordable health benefits, dedicated caregivers are going to have no option other than to leave our residents and work at facilities that provide health benefits we are able to afford. We should not be forced to choose between keeping ourselves and our families healthy and continuing to care for the residents we love.

What happened in contact negotiations? This week our negotiations committee had a bargaining session with the employer, Mr. Vegh and his attorney. Even after hearing the healthcare challenges many 1199SEIU Livingston Hills members and their families face, and how their current health benefits are critical to their getting the medical care they need, the employer told the union they will not agree to maintain those benefits. Instead they made clear that they intend to force on us health benefits that are less comprehensive, and not affordable, essentially leaving us without any benefits at all. The employer's response to our need to maintain our benefits, at all. the employer's response to our need to maintain our benefits, and our frustration with their unwillingness to listen was to walk away from their virtual bargaining table.