On May 10th nursing home workers employed by Guardian Angels voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike after their employer has refused to make an offer that respects their dedicated workforce. Guardian Angels is a network of non-profit health service organizations for the elderly headquartered in Elk River.

According to publicly available documents, Guardian Angels is a non-profit with a fairly successful track record. According to 2017 tax documents they made $1,806,640 in profit on $16,543,644 in revenue and $14,737,004 in expenses. In the same tax year, President and CEO Daniel C. Dixon was paid $226,658. Over the last decade, the non-profit network has consistently made a profit except for the 2013 tax year a loss of $44,057.

The group, who do housekeeping, laundry, dietary, health unit coordinating, nursing assistance, recreation, and maintenance, are members of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota. The two sides have held over 10 bargaining sessions. SEIU claims that Guardian Angels refuses to meet the group’s demands for safe staffing levels, respect for workers who want a collective voice in their workplace, and calls for investment in dedicated staff so they can invest in their community. Attempts to Guardian Angels Care Services for comment were unsuccessful.

Jane Gardner, a nursing assistant and TMA at Guardian Angels for nearly 14 years, shared her feelings why the group voted to authorize a strike if the two sides don’t reach an agreement.

“As dedicated employees of Guardian Angels, all we are asking is for them to invest in their dedicated employees so residents can continue to get quality care. We want to feel respected and valued and we want to have a voice through our union. We become an extension of the lives of our residents through our work, and we simply want our dedication to be acknowledged. We want Guardian Angels to continue being a Five Star facility for our community. That means management actually negotiating with us in good faith to reach a contract. We voted today to authorize a strike because right now they aren’t showing us that respect.”

There is no strike date set.