Detroit-area nursing home workers set for 1-day strike at 5 locations

Workers at five Ciena Healthcare nursing home facilities, represented by SEIU Health Care Michigan (SEIU HCMI), will hold a one-day strike.

The one-day strike will occur on Tuesday (May 20), starting at 6 a.m., when over 300 nursing home workers will walk off the job over Ciena, the largest nursing home operator in the state, in an attempt to reach an agreement that respects frontline caregivers and Ciena’s continued bad faith bargaining.

The facilities include:

1. Boulevard Temple Care Center
   1. 2567 W Grand Blvd, Detroit, MI 48208
2. Notting Hill of West Bloomfield
   1. 6535 Drake Rd, West Bloomfield Township, MI 48322
3. Qualicare Nursing Home
   1. 695 E Grand Blvd, Detroit, MI 48207
4. The Regency at Chene
   1. 2295 E Vernor Hwy, Detroit, MI 48207
5. Regency at St. Clair Shores
   1. 22700 Greater Mack Ave, St Clair Shores, MI 48080

SEIU-represented members of Ciena Healthcare will be joined on the picket line by a series of supporters.

1. Boulevard Temple Care Center
   1. Rep. Tonya Meyers Phillips – 7 a.m.
2. City Council President Mary Sheffield – 3 p.m.
3. Notting Hill of West Bloomfield
   1. Rep. Noah Arbit – 7 a.m.
4. Qualicare Nursing Home
   1. Rep. Donavan McKinney – 7:30 a.m.
   2. City Council President Mary Sheffield – 3:30 a.m.
5. The Regency at Chene
   1. Senator Stephanie Chang – 7 a.m.
   2. City Council President Mary Sheffield – 4 a.m.
6. Regency at St. Clair Shores
   1. Macomb County Commissioner Sarah Lucido – time TBD

SEIU workers across those nursing homes request an increased wage scale for CENAs and increased starting rates for Ciena workers in other areas, including housekeeping/laundry, dietary, activities, cooking, and maintenance.

Other demands include improvements to shift differentials, annual raises for every worker, paid sick time, holidays, and health insurance.

• Those workers have been without contracts for months, some as far back as January 2024, and Ciena refuses to agree to retroactive pay back to the contract expiration.
• Ciena is proposing as little as fifty cents per hour for the certified nursing assistants (CENAs) who have worked longer than 10 years at the nursing homes. These workers cared for residents through the worst of the pandemic, and Ciena should recognize their commitment with fair wages.
• Ciena proposes eliminating the paid meal period at Regency at St Clair Shores, which extends the work day without a pay increase.
• Ciena’s proposal at Boulevard Temple asserted that unionized workers should pay more monthly for their health insurance than non-union employees who work in the same nursing home.
• In addition, Ciena punishes workers by leveraging the passage of the Earned Sick Time Act. They propose that workers at Notting Hill receive zero vacation time in their first year of employment, and one day of paid vacation in year two.
• Ciena proposes eliminating the current contract language that allows workers to sell back unused sick time at the end of the year. They also propose that employees receive only $150 per week as a short-term disability benefit.
• Ciena also refuses to memorialize workers’ rights enshrined in the National Labor Relations Act as the Trump Administration cuts funding to the National Labor Relations Board and threatens to eliminate it.

“Ciena Healthcare has received notice of impending 24 hour strikes to be held on May 20, 2025, by members of SEIU Healthcare of Michigan, at five nursing facilities managed by Ciena Healthcare and located in Southeast Michigan.  

Each of these collective bargaining agreements are separate and distinct agreements not linked to each other. 

First and foremost, our impacted facilities are making necessary preparations for and will provide care to all residents during any of these planned strikes by SEIU Healthcare of Michigan.  

A planned strike at this time by SEIU Healthcare of Michigan is unnecessary given that (i) none of the collective bargaining agreements are at an impasse, (ii) two facilities are in the early stages of bargaining, (iii) SEIU Healthcare of Michigan has not been in a hurry to reach new agreements until now (failing to provide dates to bargain and canceling scheduled sessions) and (iv) at each bargaining table, the employer has offered numerous contract enhancements including wage increases for each year of the contract and for years of seniority.  

Simply stated, the planned strike is diverting attention away from bargaining to resolve the few remaining open issues in each agreement and we look forward to working with the Union to obtain favorable contracts for our employees. 

Ciena Healthcare leadership appreciates the work done by all employees who are members of the collective bargaining units represented by SEIU Healthcare of Michigan and provide quality care to our residents on a daily basis."  

David Parker CEO, Ciena Healthcare