SAUGUS — Seventy nursing home workers at Saugus Care and Rehabilitation Center have reached a four-year contract agreement with management.
“We are proud of the work we do and this agreement is an important step that will ensure we can continue to provide the type of quality care families and residents rely upon,” said Eddy Pierre, a certified nursing assistant at the facility.
Ownership in January proposed making workers’ 30-minute meal breaks unpaid, which would equal a 6.25 percent wage cut, and canceled the last bargaining session without rescheduling, according to health care workers union 1199SEIU.
The healthcare workers, including certified nursing assistants, dietary technicians, licensed practical nurses, and employees in other positions, planned to strike for last week, but called it off when management agreed to return to the bargaining table.
The new contract includes a wage increase for workers, strong severance and successorship language, and protection of paid meal breaks.
“The dedicated employees at Saugus Care and Rehabilitation Center deserve wages that allow them to care for their own families, and I’m pleased that this contract provides a wage increase and other benefits,” said State Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) in a statement. “Quality, affordable, and reliable nursing home care is vital to our community, and this contract is an important step for employees and local families.”
The facility was purchased from Genesis in April 2018 by Eli Mirlis, who is the CEO of Connecticut-based RegalCare Management Group. Mirlis owns two other nursing homes in Massachusetts: Maplewood Center in Amesbury and Twin Oaks Center in Danvers.
The federal government recently changed the way it assesses nursing homes nationwide. Homes with five stars are considered to have above-average quality service, while those with one-star ratings are considered to have below-average quality.
Saugus Care and Rehab received a three-star overall rating, with three stars for health inspections, three for staffing and two for quality measures, according to a search on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services website.
In comparison, Chestnut Woods Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Saugus received four stars overall with three for health inspections, four for staffing and three for quality measures.
Twin Oaks received a two-star overall rating with two stars for health inspections, three for staffing and two for quality measures.
