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https://www.facebook.com/notes/occupy-phil... BREAKING NEWS ALERT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – December 9, 2011, 2PM
OCCUPY PHILLY OCCUPIES A UNION-BUSTING
NURSING HOME AND COMPANY HEADQUARTERS
Occupy Philadelphia members are right now occupying the corporate headquarters of Presby’s Inspired Life.
Presby’s Inspired Life is a local nursing home chain that refuses to allow its hard-working nursing home employees to bargain a fair contract and is trying to destroy their union. Although employees voted by a wide majority in April, 2010 to join SEIU, they have been without a contract since, and leaders in union organizing have been fired or pressured to leave. Presby’s Inspired Life has retained the law form of Saul, Ewing, a notorious union-busting firm, to negotiate with workers.
The employees of Presby’s Inspired Life include many immigrants from the Caribbean islands and West Africa, honest and hard-working people who came to this country to live the American dream. Many work multiple jobs just to get by, leaving them tired and exhausted and unable to care for nursing home residents with their full energies. Because of a tense, antagonistic relationship with nursing home management and an intimidating work environment, these nurses and aids are distracted from focusing on delivering the best care to their elderly and infirm charges.
Although Presby’s Inspired Life is incorporated as a non-profit, it had revenues of $4.1 million in 2010 ($1.3 million for just this one home) and paid its President and CEO, Judee M. Bavaria, over $400,000 in total compensation in 2009, even as the global recession battered businesses. It recently received an $8.5 million HUD grant but refuses to use our taxpayer money to pay its workers fairly.
Presby’s board includes members of the Presbyterian Church and is headed by the Rev. Paul S. Stavrakos, but it hasn’t acted very Christian towards its fellow men and women.
Occupy Philadelphia calls on Presby’s Inspired Life to bargain a fair contract that would raise standards for patient care and respect the worker's union and seniority. Let these hard-working people get back to helping our parents and grandparents with the most of their energies. Occupy Philadelphia will occupy Presby’s corporate headquarters to let its management know that union-busting is disgusting.
When: NOW, Friday December 9, 1:00pm
Where: Presby’s Inspired Life Corporate Headquarters, 2000 Joshua Road, Lafayette Hill, PA
Who: The 99%
Media Visuals: Occupation of Presby’s corporate headquarters, signs, peaceful protesters
Interviews: Protesters and peaceful occupiers, Presby’s Inspired Life nursing home workers.
(MODS: As a press release IIRC it's okay to fully copy and paste here?)
