Published: April 26, 2024
A group of workers wearing purple SEIU scrubs with their fists in the air
Workers at Serenity Hospice, which is operated by Addus Homecare, started talking about organizing a union in February, as SEIU members at Addus Homecare were settling their newest union contract.
Workers at Serenity face a host of issues – low pay, pay equity issues, poor healthcare coverage, and compassion fatigue. One of the managers who would visit the Serenity clinic would regularly remind them that they don’t need to have a union, which perplexed the workers enough that they finally decided to look into what having a union is all about. They began to organize shortly afterward.
The campaign had unanimous support throughout. 100% of workers signed cards, a petition demanding recognition of their union, and marched on the boss to deliver them. The company paid for an expensive union-busting law firm, but it was fairly pointless as the organizing campaign never lost any support.
Yesterday, 100% of workers voted YES to forming a union. These are the first hospice workers to join SEIU Local 503, and the first Addus hospice unit that has organized in the country.