ALEXANDRIA, Va. – September 1, 2011 – The Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA) expressed its deep dismay with two decisions made on Tuesday by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). One case makes it much easier for unions to organize employees of senior living companies. The other permits a union to stay in place even in the face of an employee-led request for a vote to remove the union. These decisions will compromise both employee and employer rights, will lead to higher costs for seniors in a down economy, fragment services for senior living residents and stir divisiveness among staff serving seniors.

“The NLRB decisions seem timed to present a big Labor Day gift to organized labor at the expense of senior living employees, employers and the residents and family members they serve,” said Richard P. Grimes, president and CEO of ALFA. “The NLRB continues to produce unprecedented decisions that alter carefully balanced rules that employers have followed for years. The changes resulting from the decisions will make serving seniors more complex and expensive with no benefit to anyone except big unions.”

In the first case, Specialty Healthcare, the NLRB voted 3-1 to change the way it determines the bargaining (or “voting”) units in Senior Living and Long Term Care Health Care. Until now, unions generally had to show sufficient interest among all service employees in a senior living community in order to successfully petition for an election. Beginning today, however, unions may be able to call for an election among employees in a single job classification, such as caregivers or housekeepers or food service employees.

The NLRB decision means that several bargaining units can be created within a single senior living community, each of which could be represented by a different union. Each union could negotiate its own separate contract with the senior living community and negotiate over their own union job descriptions, wages and work rules.

“This is a wrong decision for senior living communities, their employees and the residents they serve,” said Grimes. “Allowing organized labor to unionize these fragmented groups of employees will raise the cost of doing business, raise the rates for seniors in our care—and worse—cause divisiveness among the staff who should always remain focused on advancing quality of life for the seniors they serve.”

NLRB Member Hayes, in dissenting from the NLRB decision, described the decision as contrary to Congressional intent, stating that it “essentially nullifies the Board’s practice of taking guidance from legislative history cautioning against proliferation of (bargaining) units in the healthcare industry.”

In the other case, Lamons Gasket, the NLRB voted 3-1 to reverse a previous decision that allowed a secret ballot election even when an employer and organized labor previously agreed to form a union. That is, beginning now, employees do not have the right to a secret ballot to vote for or against a union if labor and management agree to allow a union based solely upon signed union cards.

“ALFA believes that the secret ballot election is the gold standard, as the NLRB has recognized in the past, and we disagree with any decisions that would limit or remove employees’ rights to make an informed choice in an official, NLRB-supervised secret ballot election,” said Grimes.

About The Assisted Living Federation of America

ALFA is the largest national association exclusively dedicated to professionally-managed, consumer driven senior living communities and the seniors and families they serve. ALFA creates the future of senior living inclusive of independent living, assisted living and Alzheimer’s care services by advocating for choice, accessibility, independence, dignity, and quality of life for all seniors, facilitating business excellence and ensuring an informed public. Visit ALFA’s Web site at www.alfa.org.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Readers may also visit the ALFA News Center to read about other recent labor related news.

About the Assisted Living Federation of America
ALFA is the largest national association exclusively dedicated to professionally-managed, consumer driven senior living communities and the seniors and families they serve. ALFA creates the future of senior living inclusive of independent living, assisted living and Alzheimer’s care services by advocating for choice, accessibility, independence, dignity, and quality of life for all seniors, facilitating business excellence and ensuring an informed public. Visit ALFA’s Web site at www.alfa.org.

Contact:

Paul Williams 
Senior Director of Government Relations
703-562-1183
pwilliams@alfa.org

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