Menorah House Staff
Pickets At The Home
RUTH LITTMANN STAFF WRITER
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11.
C ailing for higher wages
and more help, union and
non-union employees at
Menorah House staged a
peaceful demonstration outside
the Jewish nursing home on
Greenfield Road on Tuesday af-
ternoon, March 19.
"How can you buy a Cadillac
with Volkswagen money? There's
a difference between quality care
and maintenance care," said
Spencer Kelly, a state-certified
nurse's aide. "Sometimes the res-
idents might stay soiled a little
longer than they should. And
that's putting it lightly. You can-
not give quality care if you're
short-staffed."
Mr. Kelly and others who
demonstrated at the Southfield
facility this week say they often
handle 15 to 17 elderly residents
per shift.
"The residents get good care,"
another demonstrator said. "It's
just that we need more help."
Menorah House staff, its man-
agement and guardians of resi-
dents living at the home remain
divided on the issue of patient
care.
Dennis Hayes, administrator,
expressed pride in his staff. He
also said the employee/resident
ratio at Menorah House exceeds
state standards.
Mr. Hayes believes the start-
ing salary of $5.80 per hour for
nurses aides is fair. A new con-
tract, once signed by union lead-
ers, would increase most
non-starting salaries by 50 cents
per hour.
Several family members visit-
ing Menorah House on Tuesday
evening said they are happy with
the care their loved ones receive.
"The staff is very good to my
mother. I really don't have any
complaints," said Marie Yale, af-
ter dropping in on her 90-year-
old mother.
"The staff that is here is won-
derful. I have no complaints
about that. It's just that they
could use twice as much help,"
said another woman, who re-
quested anonymity.
Pat Kourkouliotis, whose
mother, Vivian Chaifetz, 81, has
lived at Menorah House for more
than a year, also expressed her
support of the home.
"I think that the care is won-
derful," she said. "Not everybody
here is easy to take care of, but
the people who take care of my
mother treat her well and with
kindness. What more can I ask
for?
"I've heard pros and cons about
Ai s PlaRAID44
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my mother first came here (from
the former Borman Hall), they've
really cleaned up their act."
As for being short-staffed, Ms.
Kourkouliotis says, "At times
they seem to be, but not at all
times."
She sympathizes with the
nurses and nurses aides: "They
work hard and should have a lit-
tle better salary and at least
health benefits."
The sticking point between the
union and Menorah House seems
to be the option between a pen-
sion and 401K plan, administra-
tor Hayes says.
The union representatives are
plugging for a pension. Mr.
Hayes has argued that the 401K
plan would be better for all par-
ties involved.
However, the real target of
Tuesday's demonstration, says
Mr. Hayes, is not Menorah
House, but rather Lansing. He
believes that labor — the Service
Employees International Union
Local 49 — organized picketers
in an attempt to convince state
lawmakers to change staffing ra-
tios at nursing homes and to in-
crease legislated pay scales.
"Local 79 has a political agen-
da in the state Legislature to af-
fect changes in rules and laws
affecting their constituents," the
administrator wrote in a letter to
residents and their guardians.
"In an effort to bring attention to
their agenda, they occasionally
call for informational pickets and
they have done so at our facility."
But Local 79 Business Repre-
sentative Tommie Barnes says
the demonstration was mainly a
"contractual statement."
`The union position is certainly
to increase the wages of employ-
ees we represent. Also, we do
have a reason to believe that the
staffing levels are not adequate,
which equates to poor resident
care," he says.
Menorah House supervisors
knew about plans for the demon-
stration and two weeks ago sent
letters to families of residents.
The notices said the protest was
not a strike. No one would be
walking off the job.
Still, some personnel are frus-
trated.
George Murphy, a state-certi-
fied nursing aide, says Menorah
House lacks the staff necessary
to assure that plugged toilets get
unplugged promptly. Beds, he
says, are falling apart, and there
are no special carts to wheel fresh
linens up and down the halls to
patients' rooms. Food carts are
used instead, he says, CI