Nursing home strike ends in Fresno with a short-term deal. One side called it a ‘victory’

A six-week strike over pay and benefits for workers at a Fresno nursing home ended this week after the two sides struck a one-year deal on a new contract.

Unionized workers at Sunnyside Convalescent Hospital returned to work Wednesday.

Sunnyside employees and SEIU 2015 union members will return to the bargaining table in about nine months, said Terry Carter, a spokesperson for the union.

Until then, the nursing home’s management agreed to pay staff the medical minimum wage and to introduce a wage scale based on seniority.

“That seniority thing is a big deal,” Carter said. “It accrues from the date of employment at the facility, regardless of any change in ownership.”

Sunnyside’s owner, Mario Marasigan, did not respond to a request for comment.

Sunnyside workers launched their protest Oct. 6, saying staffers experienced unsafe working conditions, made less than minimum wage and bounced paychecks.

SEIU 2015 represents Sunnyside employees and more than 400,000 long-term care workers in California. Maria Xiquin, the union’s regional director for the Central Valley and Central Coast, previously told The Bee that SEIU 2015 requested the state Department of Health Care Services to audit Sunnyside’s wages.

The Bee confirmed the state’s audit concluded Sunnyside’s management was paying employees less than the required 58 cents above the state’s $15 minimum wage for non-medical staff and 78 cents above that for medical staff.

With delayed bargaining, employees and SEIU 2015 members went on strike when Sunnyside management did not respond to their demands for better pay and working conditions.

In September, Sunnyside workers held an initial one-day strike outside the nursing home’s facilities. After not reaching an agreement with the nursing home’s management, the staff returned to the picket lines in early October.

During their six-week strike, some Sunnyside employees and SEIU 2015 supporters fasted in protest at Courthouse Park in Fresno on Oct 18.

Carter said strikers “stood 100% strong,” and no one crossed the picket line.

“Another notable victory is the employer is re-introducing healthcare coverage,” she said, “which our members haven’t had since a couple owners ago.”