Clinton Healthcare Center workers awarded $1,500 in back pay

Like most UFCW Local 400 members, the contract covering employees at the Clinton Healthcare Center in Clinton, MD., requires scheduling to be based on seniority. But shortly after Clinton was purchased by CommuniCare Health Services, a for-profit company that operates 50 health care and rehabilitation centers in five states, scheduling started to change. “The new management wasn’t looking at our contract or our needs, it was just doing whatever it wanted,” said Local 400 shop steward Tawanna Gray. “I told them, ‘we have seniority and you have to follow our collective bargaining agreement.’ But they didn’t listen.” After Local 400 filed a grievance, a new general manager worked cooperatively with the union to put things right, restoring nearly $1,500 to five employees. Gray credited both the company and her union, calling the result “a real morale booster.” 
photo (l-r): James Smith, Joyce Jackson, Claudene Fletcher and Dora Young, along with shop steward Tawanna Gray.

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