Nursing home workers detained in protest at state office building demanding better wages

Nursing home and long-term care workers were detained Thursday afternoon after they entered a state office building and refused to leave during a protest calling for better wages and health care.

It was not immediately clear how many of the workers who took part in the protest were taken in custody, or what they were charged with, but photographs shared by SEIU 1199NE, a union that represents nursing homes and other long-term care workers across the state, showed a small group of individuals sitting handcuffed on the floor of the building at 410 Capitol Ave. as Hartford police officers stood watch.

According to a news release from the union, the rally began outside the building, which houses offices for the Department of Public Health, the Office of Policy and Management and the Department of Development Services. “Detentions were made when some rallygoers entered the building and sat down,” the release said.

The nursing home workers’ union has taken issue with Gov. Ned Lamont’s proposed budget that was released in February, arguing that the state should raise taxes on the rich or take money from its $3 billion-plus rainy day fund to offer additional financial help to frontline workers. Lamont has resisted both options, and his budget relies largely on additional federal aid forthcoming from Washington to close projected deficits.

“Do you know what’s in the budget for nursing home workers? Do you know what’s in the budget for home care workers? Do you know what’s in the budget for group home workers? Nothing. There’s nothing for you in the budget,” SEIU 1199NE President Rob Baril said in a news release. “Long-term care workers should not have to work late into their 70s to pay their bills. Everyone deserves to have a pension so we can retire with dignity and respect. We’re just fighting for basic human rights.”

The demonstration follows a protest in Hartford last month where long-term care workers blocked traffic and called for higher wages, more affordable health care and other changes to their working conditions, saying they have put themselves at great risk to care for the vulnerable during the coronavirus pandemic.

The union is pressing for what it calls a “Long-Term Care Workers Bill of Rights” that includes adequate supplies of personal protective equipment, a wage of no less than $20 an hour, affordable health insurance, paid sick leave, child care. It has called on state lawmakers to boost Medicaid rates and raise taxes on the wealthy to pay for it.

The state has granted some extra money to nursing homes — which have borne the brunt of coronavirus-linked deaths in Connecticut — throughout the pandemic, including a $600 per diem for each patient at homes that were designated as COVID-19 recovery centers, but workers argue it isn’t enough.

Jessika Harkay can be reached at jharkay@courant.com.

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