Well, its official. The Michigan state health care workers union at Grand Rapids Home for Veterans has been broken. The change over to J2S substandard health care workers will continue.
Look, I have known 3 of the J2S workers personally for over 20 years. These acquaintances of mine are hard working people who have taken a job just to have a job. But this will not be an acceptable solution to the problems facing the Home and the states budget process.
The Governor is trying to balance the states budget on the backs of the Veterans, or so it seems to many that I have talked with.
The fact of the matter is, is that a worker needs to make 15 an hour just to break even in this State. Due to the dismal economy many are forced to take lower paying jobs. They do so, while they look for higher paying work, and they will NOT stay with the company. The turn over rate for companies that pay the lower wages, is usually high, between 30 and 60 percent.
And it is the Veterans at the home, that will suffer.
While J2S has been at the home, the union health care workers had to take up the slack when J2S could not meet its Manpower requirement. How many times did we hear on the Public Address system, that State healthcare workers could not leave at the end of their shift because overtime was needed? That meant another full 8 hour shift, to cover a slot that was supposed to be filled by a J2S worker that did not show.
Now that J2S will have the entire place to run, what are they going to do? Are they going to force their low paid workers to work a double shift? This is one of the complaints that were filed about them, prior to their being accepted as a contractor for this job. They said it would not happen, but here it is, happening just like people said it would.
And the Veterans at the home, suffer.
Why doesn't Michigan just admit, that it cannot afford, or than it does not want to, spend the money needed to care for its Veterans? It might as well say that. Proof is the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.
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