Aegis Living caregivers will hold an informational picket on Thursday shedding light on unsafe and anti-worker practices at the private company whose CEO Dwayne Clark has bragged about handing “double-digit million equity back to our investors” while paying poverty wages, per the workers’ union, SEIU 775.
Aegis Living has a reputation as a “luxury” care setting for seniors. But the union has documented safety and staffing issues at Aegis Ravenna in Seattle that threaten resident’s health and the wellbeing of caregivers as well.
The workers are picketing Thursday over three core issues. One is union-busting. The union reports that caregivers at Aegis Living Ravenna voted to form a union with SEIU 775 in March of 2023 and after 20 months of bargaining still do not have a union contract. Most workers have had no pay raises in almost 2 years and make just over minimum wage.
Aegis is facing multiple Unfair Labor Practice charges for illegal firing of frontline staff, retaliation against union activists, failing to bargain in good faith, and other illegal practices. Aegis Living has retained the infamous union busting law firm, Morgan Lewis, one of the largest and most expensive anti-union firms in an attempt to intimidate workers and stop Aegis staff from forming a union with SEIU 775.
Workers are also protesting understaffing and high turnover, driven by brutally low pay, Clark’s refusal to invest in the workforce, and the anti-worker attitude encapsulated in the company’s ongoing union-busting.
TAKE A STAND: Join Aegis Living caregivers for an informational picket Thursday, October 10 from 1:30 to 3:30 pm at Aegis Living Ravenna in Seattle (8511 15th Avenue NE, Seattle, WA 98115).