Published May 21, 2006 in the Hibbing Daily Tribune
By Aaron J. Brown
I have an early
deadline, so
by the time you read this I hope the parties involved in the nursing
aide
strike at
Opinions I’ve seen in this paper and heard around town often favor a speedy resolution to the problem for the sake of the residents. At the time I write this, however, the chance for a fast conclusion has already passed.
This issue has two levels. The first level is the one we’ve been reading about in the paper. Did the union violate the 10-day notice law by striking when they did? Who said what and when? Were any laws or codes actually broken? Does the nursing home currently meet standards? Then there are the many troubling stories of understaffing resulting in poor care.
The answers to some of these questions can be answered definitively, but others remain unaddressed – including some of the union’s more alarming accusations of understaffing. These details represent an important level of this dispute, but not the whole story.
The second, more important level goes much deeper. What kind of care do we want to provide our parents and grandparents?
There’s more at stake in this strike than the residents at Guardian Angels. There’s more at stake than the nursing home’s bottom line or the working conditions of the nurses and nurses aides. What’s at stake is how we as a people are going to deal with an aging population into this new century. Resources are thin now, and even more people will need more care in just a few years. Nationally, a small but notable percentage of baby boomers – our largest generation – will need advanced care in 10 years or less. This problem is exacerbated here on the Range, where the population is already older than average.
Like a lot of people who live on the Iron Range I know many people who work at nursing homes. I have family members on both sides of the administrative line and have heard about the issues of nursing home care from many perspectives. What seems to unify the many opinions I hear is that the status quo just won’t work as the number of seniors who need care rises. Change often won’t occur without a jolt; and if this strike provides the jolt we need than we should welcome it.
Indeed, there are two sides to every labor dispute. I believe everyone involved cares about the nursing home residents. And the sooner the regular nurses’ aides can return to work and care for residents the better. But let’s not forget the larger issue. In a dispute of this kind, history will judge the actions of our society by whether we stood with the people who demanded better care for our seniors or with the people who said the status quo was legally acceptable.
I stand for increased attention to nursing home resident care. So should you. If we do not acknowledge the concerns of the striking nursing aides, we will have shamed our parents’ generation and doomed our children’s generation to repeat this battle.
They say third parties shouldn’t take sides in a labor dispute on the Range. I’m going to break that rule. Thank you to the Guardian Angels workers who have taken this stand. Indeed, thank you to all the workers who provide good care for long hours at low wages. If we do right by you, we will do right for the residents of care facilities everywhere.
Aaron J. Brown is a columnist for the Hibbing Daily Tribune.