Caregivers Go On Strike In Cicero Over Pandemic Working Conditions
CHICAGO (CBS)-- Nearly 700 essential nursing home workers walked off the job Monday morning.
Workers at Infinity-owned facilities in the greater Chicago area went on strike at 6 a.m. because they want better pay, especially as they work through a pandemic.
Another issue is safety. Employees say a nursing home in Cicero has the state's highest number of COVID-19 infections.
The nursing home had more than 200 COVID-19 cases and, at the time, nine residents and one worker died. Cicero even went to court in an effort to shut down it down.
City View, the Cicero location, is one of 11 facilities owned by Infinity. Caregivers say a second Infinity facility, Niles Nursing and Rehab Center, currently has the highest number of deaths.
The nearly 700 Infinity caregivers will walk off the job and they say their contract expired in May and they've been bargaining for a new one since June to no avail.
They accuse Infinity of ending pandemic pay for workers at the end of July, even though it received 12.7 million in COVID-19 funding through the Cares Act.
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