Hundreds of nursing home workers strike for 24 hours amid contract dispute with Ciena Healthcare

Striking health care workers target facilities in Metro Detroit

Hundreds of workers walked off the job Tuesday in protest for better pay and working conditions at facilities owned by Ciena Healthcare.

(FOX 2) - Hundreds of healthcare workers took to the streets Tuesday for a 24-hour strike as they picket for better wages and working conditions.

At one of the five nursing homes targeted for the strike, dozens of certified nursing assistants crowded the sidewalks and called on Ciena Healthcare to meet their demands.

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More than 300 CNAs around Metro Detroit went on strike against five different nursing home locations on Tuesday.

The 24-hour strike was aimed at pushing Ciena Healthcare to agree to contract requests from the workers. 

Among the demands from workers include better wages, working conditions, and improving the resident-to-nurse ratio, as well as paid sick time.

"They don’t wanna pay us and we’re out here working hard. I’ve been working for a Ciena company for 20 years. Twenty years - I make $17 an hour housekeeper," said Brenda Sears.

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Sears was among those in front of the Regency at Chene, a nursing home that cares for approximately 150 residents.

And she wasn't the only one fired up about the strike.

"They don’t want to bargain for retro pay, they don’t wanna bargain for better wages, and better working conditions," said Mable Woodward.

Woodward minced no words when asked about the healthcare benefits they're provided, calling the coverage "crap." A nurses' assistant for over 35 years, she and others have been fighting for a new contract since April 2024.

Ask Porche Jackson, another striking nurses' assistant, and she the working conditions pose a concern for the residents of the nursing homes.

"They're in danger. Of course," Jackson said. "They need us."

The other side:

Ciena Healthcare say that each individual nursing home has a separate contract and it intends to bargain in good faith with each one.

In a statement, the company said:

"Simply stated, the planned strike is diverting attention away from bargaining to resolve the few remaining open issues in each agreement and we look forward to working with the Union to obtain favorable contracts for our employees."

In the meanwhile, auxiliary workers were called in to help care for residents amid the strike.