Oakland Nurses End 5-Day Strike, Some Lose Jobs

[Omaha Steve]

http://cbs5.com/local/oakland.nursing.home.2.1848220.html

Aug 7, 2010 11:48 am US/Pacific

OAKLAND (BCN) ― AP

A group of caregivers at two Oakland nursing homes returned to work Saturday morning after a five-day union strike, but about 30 workers have been replaced by new employees hired during the strike, an attorney for the company that owns the facilities said.

Workers returned Saturday morning to Piedmont Gardens and Grand Lake Gardens nursing homes after a strike that began Monday and "everything seems to be back to normal," said David Durham, labor attorney for American Baptist Homes of the West, which owns the facilities.

The strike, organized by Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, involved about 150 employees at the two facilities.

Some of the union members crossed the picket lines and came back to work before Saturday, Durham said.

The union issued a statement Friday saying members feared they would be blocked from returning to work Saturday because the company provided the nursing homes with temporary staff during the strike and was "threatening to make the change permanent."

Durham said all but about 30 employees were able to come back to work as of this morning. The employees who were replaced were placed on a preferential re-hire list in accordance with federal labor laws, he said.

"As openings develop, they'll be offered to those people first," he said.

FULL story at link.

[maryf]

1. damn scabs...gotta nurse them outta existence, K&R nt.