(TONAWANDA, NEW YORK) – Union-represented Nursing Home Workers employed by Safire of the Northtowns in Tonawanda held a silent protest today (Friday, April 17th) over a lack of appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which has Caregivers concerned for the safety of the residents of the nursing home.

For weeks, Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) and Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) -represented by 1199 Service Employees International Union (SEIU)-United Healthcare Workers East, have been working at Safire Rehabilitation of the Northtowns, caring for residents who’ve tested positive for COVID 19.

Several Employees have also tested positive and are now in quarantine.

Calls for adequate PPEs, including fitted masks and safety training, have been rebuffed by the out-of-town operators of the facility located on Sheridan Drive in Tonawanda, Union Officials said.

Previous scheduled Labor-Management meetings to discuss safety protocols have been cancelled by management and almost no training has been offered to Caregivers during this crisis, 1199 SEIU Representatives said. 

Today, those Health Care Workers participated in a silent, socially distanced protest to express concern about safety of Staff and residents at the nursing home.

“We are ‘afraid for ourselves and our residents,’” said one Caregiver. “We want the public and the Department of Health ‘to know what is going on here.’  ‘We aren’t being heard but maybe we can at least be seen.’”

1199 SEIU was able to secure about 30 donated KN95 Masks and began to provide fit-testing for some Union Members working at Safire of the Northtowns this week.

“It is ‘obviously not enough,’” 1199 SEIU Vice-President Todd Hobler said. “At nursing homes like this one, ‘we need the government to step in and make sure that every caregiver has the Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) that they need to keep themselves and their residents safe.’ It is ‘pretty clear here’ that the owners ‘are not going to do it on their own.’”

1199 SEIU-United Healthcare Workers East represents more than 50,000 Nursing Home Workers across New York State, including 5,000 in Western New York who are employed at more than 30 facilities.