BUFFALO, N.Y. — Frontline workers at two Buffalo nursing homes are demanding hazard pay and more personal protective equipment.
And, because of social distancing guidelines, organizers had to come up with a different way to protest outside both nursing homes.
Members of the 1199 SEIU say nearly two dozen workers at these two nursing homes have fallen ill to the virus, that they are doing heroic work and deserve hazard pay.
The SEIU held a car caravan protest outside Ellicott Center for Rehab and Nursing and Buffalo Center for Rehab and Nursing.
Protesters they came with signs that read "Get me PPE now" and "Don't send us into a war without armor."
We heard cheering from employees inside the Ellicott Center, as the caravan protest went by.
The SEIU says the owner of both nursing homes, Centers Healthcare has refused to give frontline workers hazard pay.
"We're wanting to make sure not just that people have enough PPE's but that there's enough staffing that there are enough protections for our members and that they're shown the recognition that the deserve as essential healthcare workers," said Todd Hobler, vice president of 1199 SEIU, "folks who have been here many of them 20-25 years in and out doing the work that is essential to provide good care to the residents and they deserve respect."
According to the latest state data, there have been 11 nursing home deaths at Buffalo Center due to COVID-19 and four deaths at Ellicott Center.
The SEIU says that many other nursing homes are giving their workers hazard pay.
A spokesperson for both nursing homes says their workers have plenty of PPE, but would not comment on hazard pay.
The SEIU says it's possible there will be more protests, it depends on how negotiations go but no one is walking off the job.