Workers at Hillside Manor in St. Louis, Missouri went on strike on Martin Luther King Day in response to unequal pay and poor workplace conditions. Workers say that the 130 resident facility is “infested with bed bugs, mice and cockroaches”. Workers have also stated that the facility owners, Luxor Healthcare, have engaged in union-busting tactics. The workers union, SEIU, currently has a registered complaint with the National Labor Relations Board claiming that the company fired union organizers and union members to stifle union organization. The complaint also alleges that there were unlawful changes to compensation.
The company responded to the workers' allegations by claiming that they are without merit and stated their disappointment with the strike. The company claims that it is “committed to good faith negotiations” amidst the contract negotiations with the union.
Whereas the workers at the nursing home are fighting for improvements in their working conditions and pay, the capitalists will bitterly oppose these measures as a threat to their profitability. Though the capitalists claim to be committed to good-faith negotiations, they will ruthlessly protect their own profit interests at any cost. It is necessary for the workers to learn Marxist-Leninist theory to end the exploitation of man-by-man that occurs under capitalism.
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