September 26, 2025
Members of 1199SEIU have launched a bargaining campaign for new three-year contracts at four nursing homes across Florida that would deliver fair and reasonable wage increases to keep up with the rapidly rising cost of living in the state.
The effort will take unity and persistence as the facility operators have responded with extreme and untenable proposals including cuts to wages, work hours, paid holidays and other essential elements workers won in previous contracts.
The contracts would cover approximately 370 employees, such as CNAs, dietary staff, housekeepers and laundry workers at Wilton Manors Health & Rehab, Unity Health & Rehab in Miami, North Beach Rehab, and Rockledge Health & Rehab.
Management proposals, that also include unfair cuts to uniforms, punctuality incentives, ratification bonuses and more, might also violate U.S. Labor law and the National Labor Relations Act, Section 8(a)(5), regarding employers refusing to bargain in good faith, say union leaders
Employers cannot come to the table with the goal of clawing back everything workers have won in the past or use bargaining as a weapon to punish workers and/or negotiate backwards, according to 1199SEIU.
In addition, the four facilities are owned by different companies, but all represented by the same lawyer and are presenting nearly identical proposals at the bargaining table, indicating a coordinated effort to slash contracts rather than individual economic necessity.
Workers are prepared to keep up the fight to support and protect their families, and for the well-being of their elderly, vulnerable patients.
“I love caring for my patients, but I need fair wages and benefits to protect and support my own family,” said Dany Fleurantus, a CNA at Wilton Manors and a mother of three. “We have to stand together and fight hard because management wants to pay us as little as they can no matter how much it costs to live here.”
“We have been able to push back and stop some of the worst of the proposed take-aways,” said Dr. Carolina Ampudia, 1199SEIU organizer and chief negotiator. “But we have a great deal of work to do to reach fair agreements in Florida, a state with one of the highest costs of living and fastest price increases in the country.”
Beyond negotiations, workers are planning “walks on the boss,” calls to facility owner corporate offices, Labor Day rallies and other actions.
“It’s important that we stay determined, engaged and united,” said Sherry McCaslin, a CNA at Rockledge Health & Rehab. “That’s how we’ll win for workers, patients and our whole community.”
