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(November 18^th, 2021 – Lincolnwood, IL) –Nursing Home workers represented by SEIU Healthcare Illinois were joined by elected officials for a press conference and car caravan calling on nursing home owners to distribute funds allocated to them through the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA). The state legislature allocated $75 million dollars of ARPA funds for long-term care facilities to respond to the COVID pandemic.  

Over half of the funding was allocated to pay for the wages, bonuses and/or benefits of nursing home workers who have been staffing the frontlines during the pandemic, but owners at many facilities have failed to direct any of the funding to frontline staff. 

Workers at facilities which belong to the Illinois Association of Health Care Facilities spoke out at the press conference which was followed by a car caravan stopping by multiple Association facilities where owners have failed to pay out any of the ARPA funding they received in pandemic pay for workers.  

Five corporate offices were visited during the car caravan, Symphony Nursing Homes, Aperion Care, Villa Healthcare, Dynamic Healthcare, and Extended Care. At each location an overdue invoice listing the exact amount owed to workers was delivered.

“Union Nursing Home workers have been playing a crucial role in holding the industry accountable. Symphony, you received $1.5 Million dollars from the government that was for direct COVID19 relief and I haven’t seen a single dime of it. Where’s our money? – Ozzmon Dumas, Housekeeper at Symphony

“Not another penny until we see what they’re doing with the money, until we get clarity that the money is actually going where they said it was going to go. They’re going have to come through me before they get another penny!” – State Representative Kelly Cassidy

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