Title
Authorizing the Committee on Labor and Civil Service to hold hearings regarding service providers and employers honoring existing and prior worker contract agreements.
Body
WHEREAS, There are existing laws on the books to protect workers, particularly unionized workers, in situations when a service provider loses a contract or when a new firm takes over ownership of an entity. For example, there are local laws that require successor employers to hire incumbent workers, and in some cases, this means that their wages and benefits are protected; and
WHEREAS, Despite these existing laws, in this era of frequent outsourcing, acquisitions, and mergers, it is increasingly common for service providers and employers to refuse to honor existing and prior worker contract agreements. We need to explore if, how, and under what terms these laws can be better enforced and/or strengthened to protect workers; and
WHEREAS, In Philadelphia, there have been a few recent high-profile cases where service providers and employers have refused to honor existing and prior worker contract agreements; and
WHEREAS, In one example, Vita Healthcare Group assumed ownership of the Somerton Center and Garden Spring Center nursing home facilities. As the new owners, they slashed wages by more than 30% for some workers and made healthcare practically unaffordable by instituting a $10,000 deductible; and
WHEREAS, These workers at Somerton Center and Garden Spring Center were deeply concerned about Vita Healthcare Group taking away many of the protections that they had put into place over more than two decades of productive labor-management relations. These changes only served to disrupt their ability to do their jobs properly, which was a disservice to the residents who place not only their trust, but literally their lives, in the hands of these nursing home facilities when they are at their most vulnerable; and
WHEREAS, After many months and much activism by the nursing home workers and publ...
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