Blumenthal Urges NLRB To Take Action To Preserve Compensation For Healthbridge Workers

(Hartford, CT) – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal today urged the National Labor Relations Board to take legal action to preserve the pay and benefits of unionized HealthBridge nursing home employees following a bankruptcy court ruling that reduces pay and eliminates pension and health benefits provided in their labor agreement and imposed by court order.

Last July, HealthBridge unilaterally locked out – under state law --  union workers at five nursing home facilities in Connecticut and refused to continue the pay, health insurance and pension benefits they had previously provided to their workers. In December, the federal District Court issued an injunction ordering HealthBridge to provide the same benefits and wages as set out in their previous labor agreement. HealthBridge challenged the NLRB’s findings that the company violated federal labor laws and appealed the ruling to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals seeking a stay of the court order on wages and benefits.  Such stay was denied in several courts.   After exhausting all avenues to obtain a stay of the court order, including the U.S. Supreme Court, HealthBridge obtained a Bankruptcy Court order from a New Jersey judge, allowing HealthBridge to continue imposing for the next six weeks the same terms and conditions that led the workers to strike in the first place.

In a letter to the NLRB, Blumenthal today urged the NLRB to take action to preserve the benefits and compensation of HealthBridge employees. “The District Court issued an injunction for a reason: this is a matter of urgency for these workers and their families. The employers should continue to fully comply with the District Court’s injunction and your office should ensure that the injunction continues to be fully enforced,” Blumenthal stated.

A full text of the letter is here.