SAUGUS — Management at Saugus Care and Rehabilitation Center have agreed to return to the bargaining table with 70 employees.
Nursing home workers at the 80-bed facility called off a planned strike to protest what their union describes as poor wages and ownership policies.
Ownership proposed in January making workers’ 30-minute meal breaks unpaid, which would equal a 6.25 percent wage cut, and canceled the last bargaining session without rescheduling, according to health care workers union 1199SEIU.
The facility was purchased from Genesis in April 2018 by Eli Mirlis, who is the CEO of Connecticut-based RegalCare Management Group. Mirlis owns two other nursing homes in Massachusetts: Maplewood Center in Amesbury and Twin Oaks Center in Danvers.
The healthcare workers planned to strike Thursday and Friday, but later rescinded their strike notice. The employees’ contract expired on Oct. 31, 2018.
Management and union members met on Wednesday, and will meet again on June 26, in an attempt to reach an accord.
“We are hopeful that we will achieve a fair agreement, but if a contract is not reached, union members will have the option to submit a new strike notice,” said Tim Foley, executive vice president of 11099SEIU United Healthcare Workers East.
“Massachusetts’ nursing home industry is facing a crisis in large part because of out-of-state owners … who care very little for residents, employees and the communities that they are supposed to serve,” said Foley.
Lawmakers have decried a crisis in the industry.
Both the House and Senate are seeking to increase aid to nursing homes in their budgets, according to a report by State House News Service.
The House budget included $35 million toward increasing nursing home supplemental rates, and the Senate created a $15 million targeted investment fund, according to the report.
The federal government recently changed the way it assesses nursing homes nationwide. Homes with five stars are considered to have above-average quality service, while those with one-star ratings are considered to have below-average quality.
Saugus Care and Rehab was rated as three stars overall with three stars for health inspections, three for staffing and two for quality measures, according to a search on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services website.
In comparison, Chestnut Woods Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Saugus received four stars overall with three for health inspections, four for staffing and three for quality measures.
Twin Oaks received a two-star overall rating with two stars for health inspections, three for staffing and two for quality measures.
