Nursing home workers at five Ciena Healthcare sites in Detroit, West Bloomfield and St. Clair Shores walked off the job May 20 in a one-day labor strike as contract negotiations have grown contentious between the company and SEIU Healthcare Michigan, which represents about 300 workers.
“We dedicate our time to caring for our residents, but Ciena makes us jump through hoops to care for ourselves,” said Tikesha Williams, a certified nursing assistant at Regency at St. Clair Shores, in a statement. “We don’t have adequate supplies, and we are constantly short staffed, which takes a huge toll on us.”
Tania Patton, a CNA at Boulevard Temple Care Center, holds a sign during a one-day strike outside the Boulevard Temple Care Center in Detroit on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.
The workers at three Detroit nursing homes — Qualicare Nursing Home, Boulevard Temple Care Center, and The Regency at Chene in Detroit — along with Notting Hill of West Bloomfield and Regency at St. Clair Shores have been working without contracts for several months and are asking for higher wages, along with paid sick time and holidays, and improvements to shift differentials and health insurance coverage.
They allege Ciena Healthcare proposed to:
Eliminate paid mealtime at Regency St. Clair Shores.
Offer a health insurance plan for unionized workers at Boulevard Temple that is more expensive than the plan available to nonunion employees at the same facility.
Allow for no paid vacation time for workers in the first year of employment at the Notting Hill nursing home, and one paid vacation day in the second year of employment.
In a statement issued to the Detroit Free Press, Ciena Healthcare said the one-day strikes are “unnecessary” because bargaining is not at an impasse at any of the nursing homes, which each have distinct collective bargaining agreements.
“SEIU Healthcare of Michigan has not been in a hurry to reach new agreements until now,” Ciena said in a statement. “The employer has offered numerous contract enhancements including wage increases for each year of the contract and for years of seniority. Simply stated, this strike is diverting attention away from bargaining to resolve the few remaining open issues in each agreement and we look forward to working with the Union to obtain favorable contracts for our employees.”
SEIU said contracts at each of the nursing homes expired between four and 16 months ago, and worker turnover at the sites ranges from 40%-60% each year.
April Robinson, a CNA at Boulevard Temple Care Center, holds a sign during a one-day strike outside the Boulevard Temple Care Center on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.
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“The care suffers as a result,” the union said in a statement, adding that its contract proposals will help the company recruit and retain staff like Janie Brown, who is among the long-time workers at Regency St. Clair.
“I’m a mom of 13 kids – some grown, some younger ones – and I’ve been a cook in this nursing home for 28 years,” she said in a statement. … I’ve been out on the picket line, I’ve stood up for my coworkers because I believe in fighting for our rights. When you love what you do, you want to make it better — for yourself, and for the people coming up behind you.”
Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Subscribe to the Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Workers at 5 metro Detroit nursing homes walk off in 1-day strike