Ciena Fires Picketing Nursing Home Workers

Ciena Healthcare operates 51 nursing homes in Michigan, so this labor dispute could upend post hospital and elderly health care in Michigan.  NLRB will probably have to resolve this, but is engulfed in turmoil itself and cannot take actions right now:

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/2025/05/31/nursing-home-workers-say-company-fired-employees-who-picketed/83951548007/

Nursing home workers say company fired employees who picketed
By Max Reinhart - May 31, 2025

Workers at five nursing homes in Metro Detroit are filing complaints against the state's largest nursing home operator, claiming management threatened employees who considered participating in a one-day strike and then firing workers who picketed.

The union representing the employees, Service Employees International Union Health Care Michigan (SEIU HCMI), said workers at several Ciena facilities have been without a contract for several months amid ongoing negotiations. The workers, including nursing assistants and staff who provide housekeeping, dietary, activities, and maintenance services, allege that Ciena's actions violate the National Labor Relations Act.

The affected employees include those at three Ciena facilities in Detroit and one in both West Bloomfield Township and St. Clair Shores.

“I’ve been a CNA for years, and I do this work because I love taking care of people — our elderly, our disabled,” said Nicole Thomas, an employee at the Regency at St. Clair Shores facility. “They deserve dignity, and I show up every day to make sure they get it. I know what a non-union nursing home setting is like, and we faced a wage freeze for three years."

Officials at Ciena did not respond to messages seeking comment.

On May 20, more than 300 workers from the five facilities held a one-day strike. According to the union, Ciena management received proper notification of the strike, but participating workers were disciplined and some were fired under the pretense of a "no call, no show" policy.

Workers said the company also committed several violations in the lead-up to the strike.

They alleged that Ciena offered "substantial cash bonuses" to discourage employees from striking and told workers that they did not have the right to picket. They also claim "management agents" surveilled union activity and attempted to intimidate union representatives.

SEIU HCMI, which represents more than 17,000 health care professionals, has filed the complaints with the National Labor Relations Board in Detroit.

The employees are seeking an increased wage scale for certified nursing assistants and increased starting rates for other workers. Other demands include improvements to shift differentials, annual raises for every worker, paid sick time, holidays and health insurance.

“Ciena’s communication to the public and the press is disingenuous at best," the union said in a statement. "These facilities see 40-60% turnover every year, and the care suffers as a result. The contracts are long expired, anywhere between 16 to four months ago. Moreover, Ciena has refused to agree to retroactive pay back to the contract expiration.

"Many of these workers have been here for 10 years or more, including during COVID — and nursing homes were ground zero during the pandemic. We are asking for wage increases for longevity and to lift the lowest paid workers to a livable wage.”

Ciena Healthcare has corporate offices in Southfield and Westerville, Ohio. It has 51 nursing homes in Michigan, 22 in Ohio, four in Virginia, seven in North Carolina and one in Indiana, according to its website.

A company official previously said each of the facilities targeted by the union has an individual, distinct collective bargaining agreement.