JB Johnson Nursing Center Workers in DC Vote Unanimously to Join 1199SEIU

Despite a fierce intimidation campaign by management, workers at JB Johnson Nursing Center in Washington, D.C., voted 100 percent (165-0) to join 1199SEIU on February 1. It’s the third win in a string of campaign victories at facilities owned or managed by Solanges Vivens and funded by the District of Columbia. Workers at JB Johnson look forward to bargaining a first contract that will include access to quality, affordable family healthcare, higher wages and improved time off and sick leave.

In October 2009, Vivens forced workers to divert their supplemental wages from the government’s health and welfare fund ($3.55 per hour) to pay for an expensive health insurance policy that she selected. For many, this meant a loss of income, with no real benefit.

Seeking a voice in important workplace decisions like insurance coverage, more than 70 percent of the workers signed union authorization cards less than two months later.

Momentum continued after workers collectively walked out of a meeting that was designed to discourage them from joining a union.

In late December, over 25 workers delivered holiday cards signed by 150 of their co-workers, with a wish list of improvements for the facility, including union recognition. On New Year’s Eve, they filed for a union election.

Now that they have won, the workers at JB Johnson are ready to get to the bargaining table to make real change. “I was fed up, and tired of management taking things away from us,” said LaShawn Covington, certified nursing assistant who has worked at the facility for four years. “I didn’t think it was right. Now I’m overwhelmingly happy that we won. It’s going to be a life changer.”

The unanimous support for forming a union didn’t surprise Steve Akinwale, certified nursing assistant, who has worked at the facility for a year and half. He explains: “It tells you something that she didn’t even have a single vote. This just shows that she’s had her hand in the cookie jar up to her elbow for far too long.”

David Hickman, certified nursing assistant who has been there over a year, agreed.

“I voted yes for forming a union because as a caregiver dealing with many sick residents, I deserve to have quality healthcare,” he said. “We need to be healthy to provide the best care to our residents.”

In addition to the JB Johnson Nursing Center, Vivens manages the Washington Center for Aging Services, where workers voted decisively (154-27) to join with 1199SEIU this summer. She also owns VMT Long Term Care Management, a homecare agency in the District where workers voted to join 1199SEIU two years ago. Workers at JB Nursing Center now look forward to sitting down with management and negotiating a contract with raises, affordable healthcare and other improvements.