Please take (virtual) action today to keep up the pressure on Governor Newson and Nursing Facility CEO's, and support the nursing home workers who are on the frontlines of the fight to protect lives.

We are proclaiming a loud and insistent NO to the ageism, ableism and anti-Black racism that have made many nursing homes dangerous and deadly during this pandemic. The vast majority of nursing home workers are women of color. Black and Brown residents are also dying at the highest rates of COVID. Failure to flatten the curve in nursing homes endangers the resident’s lives, the workers’ lives, and the lives of their families and communities.

OUR DEMANDS:

Governor Newson, we demand Care Not Cuts!  Your final budget should cut Police and Prisons, not Adult Day Health Care (CBAS) or the Multipurpose Senior Services Program (MSSP).  At a time when 2,000 people have died inside nursing homes, nearly half of all COVID related deaths, Governor Newsom's proposed budget would eliminate the only state programs designed to keep seniors from entering nursing homes.  We know that these budget cuts will disproportionately affect low-income elders, people with disabilities and families of color.  The legislature's budget protects these programs- CBAS and MSSP- and the final budget that the Governor signs must as well.

Windsor Care CEO Lee Samson, we demand:

Testing, Protection, & Dignity for All, residents and staff alike. We demand Personal Protective Equipment, paid sick leave, enhanced pay, and robust staffing for these institutions that are under siege. The vast majority of nursing home workers are women of color. Black and Brown residents are also dying at the highest rates of COVID. Failure to provide these endangers the resident’s lives, the workers’ lives, and the lives of their families and communities.

OUR ViRTUAL ACTIONS TODAY!

1) Post a Selfie!  

Tag @CAgovernor, @GavinNewsom, and @windsorcares on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Take a picture with candles, flowers, and signs with a message of support for workers and residents of nursing homes or one of our demands.  Use the hashtags:

#EssentialNotSacrificial, #ProtectAllWorkers, #NoBodyIsDisposable, #CareNotCuts, #BlackLivesMatter

2) Create a video:

Record a video (under 2 minutes) about your personal story, your messages of support for nursing home residents and workers and why you are fighting to hold Governor Newsom and nursing home CEO's accountable for the health and safety nursing home staff and residents. Then, post it and do the same with tagging and hashtags:

Tag @CAgovernor, @GavinNewsom, and @windsorcares on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

#EssentialNotSacrificial, #ProtectAllWorkers, #NoBodyIsDisposable, #CareNotCuts, #BlackLivesMatter

3) Please share these with selfies and videos with us so we can share them and with SEIU 2015, who will share these with their members.  We will keep them for the next action and circle back to get your approval to use them in the future.  Email them to kayla@domesticemployers.org.

There will be no in-person actions today that allies will be participating in.  Workers across the state will be holding vigils INSIDE the facilities where they work.  Our selfies and videos will be the way we can show them and residents our love and support.