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Much as it pains us to horn a U.S. senator who has done so much to clean up worldwide dirty money networks and expose shady doings by the CIA, John Kerry (D-Mass.) is on our naughty list this year for failing to end his association with Donors from Hell Elaine and Gerry Schuster, the union-busting owners of the Wingate at Wilbraham nursing home.

Millionaire fundraisers Gerry and Elaine Schuster give big bucks to the Democrat Party and its candidates. Their contributions are made to protect the huge profits they earn from their extensive housing and nursing home businesses.

While Gerry and Elaine give away millions, they shortchange their tenants, elderly residents and employees by skimping on staffing and maintenance. In just the last two years, their nursing home in Wilbraham Massachusetts has been charged with:

·Fifty nine major deficiencies in the quality of care (Mass. Department of Public Health),

·Two serious violations of federal safety and health laws (OSHA),

·Racial discrimination in their marketing program (Fair Housing Act),

·Threatening employees with physical violence (NLRB),

·Firing, harassing, and discriminating against employees for supporting a union (NLRB).

Nursing home workers, residents, community leaders and many elected officials are taking a stand to pressure the Schusters to improve the quality of care…

·The Massachusetts State Democratic Party has condemned the Schusters’ union busting.

·The Massachusetts AFL-CIO has called for a boycott of all political fundraisers hosted or sponsored by the Schusters.

·Two hundred concerned citizens from the community attended a forum on the staffing crisis.

·Forty state legislators have called on the Schusters to stop wasting health care resources on union busting.

·Over twenty members of the clergy in the Wilbraham/Springfield-area have called on the Schusters to end the union busting that has caused workers, residents and their families to suffer

Caregivers challenge Wingate nursing home owners to make fair treatment and quality care their top priorities
SEIU Local 285 Press Release Florida Council of Senior Citizens, local health care workers crash elite Palm Beach fundraiser to demand better staffing.

Caregivers from the Wingate nursing home have been struggling for two years to improve the quality of care and staffing levels at their facility in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. But the home’s owners, Gerald and Elaine Schuster say that they can’t afford it.

So, when workers found out that the Schuster’s were hosting an elite bash on March 1 in Palm Beach to raise money for Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, (a very well endowed and prestigious teaching hospital) it made them furious.

"Instead of raising money for a rich hospital, Gerry and Elaine Schuster should be working to find money to improve conditions for residents and employees at Wingate," said Frieda Post, a LPN at Wingate who made the trip to Palm Beach. "That should be their first priority."

The Massachusetts Wingate employees were joined by many Floridians who share their concerns. "We don’t really care who Schuster is raising money for. Our only concern is the staffing levels in his nursing home and the care those residents are receiving," said Tony Fransetta, President of Florida State Council of Senior Citizens. Fransetta spoke to supporters outside the party at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Manalapan.

"Whether it’s Massachusetts or Florida, we’re all in the same struggle to improve conditions in health care today," said Dody Farley, a respiratory therapist from St. Mary’s Hospital in West Palm Beach. Farley was one of many local health care employees who also protested to show their support for improved staffing and fair treatment of residents and caregivers.

Caregivers at the Wingate at Wilbraham nursing home in Massachusetts formed a union more than two years ago to improve the quality of care. The Schuster’s -- top Democratic Party fundraisers and prominent liberal socialites -- have stubbornly refused to improve the quality of care or respect their employees.

Wingate at Wilbraham is on a Massachusetts Department of Public Health "watch list" because of a past history of serious problems with the quality of care. The National Labor Relations Board has also cited Wingate for multiple and repeated violations of labor law, including replacing experienced dedicated staff with temp agency workers and harassing and firing workers for supporting their union.

Caregivers who could not make the trip are hoping that it will send the Schuster’s a message. "We back our co-workers who are going there 100 percent. We want to let Gerald Schuster know that we are very serious. We wouldn't have gone all the way to Florida if we didn't think that this is a very serious situation," said Mary Candido, an LPN at Wingate.

For Immediate Release: Thursday, March 1, 2001