Conn. Nursing Home Workers Hope To Return To Jobs

Lawyers for HealthBridge notified Chatigny on Wednesday that they planned to appeal his order to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City, and asked him to stay his ruling. Company officials and union leaders said they expected Chatigny to rule on the stay request on Friday.

A HealthBridge spokeswoman, Lisa Crutchfield, said in a statement that company officials negotiated in good faith with the union for 17 months, but says the talks were repeatedly stalled by the union. The company believed it was at an impasse, which allowed it under the law to put the new contract in place, HealthBridge officials said.

The company also accused the striking workers of acts of sabotage at three of the five nursing homes, including removing residents' wristbands, changing names on patient doors and removing stickers indicating how residents could safely be fed.

There were no reports of any residents being harmed by the alleged actions.

Crutchfield said reinstating the union workers "who committed these acts would dangerously expose residents to the very people who sought to do them harm during the July 3 walkout."

Union spokeswoman Deborah Chernoff condemned the acts but said the company had no proof who committed them. She said both the workers who walked off the job and replacement workers had access to residents as the strike began. She said it didn't make sense for the company to fight the order to hire back all the workers when it's not clear who or how many people committed the alleged sabotage.

The company said the incidents are being investigated by the chief state's attorney's office, which acknowledged receiving the company's complaint but declined to confirm an investigation was under way.

Some workers at Wednesday's rally said they have had a hard time making ends meet over the past five months, with no pay or health insurance. Many are getting by on unemployment benefits and food stamps.

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