Across several states, initiatives are underway to increase wages and improve benefits for nursing home workers.
In Minnesota, new nursing assistants will now earn $22.56 per hour by 2026, aligning pay standards across the state with the state average.
Moreover, Minnesota’s Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board approved new wage rules by setting a $24 per hour minimum for certified nursing assistants (CNAs) by January 1, 2027, pending state funding. This move could reshape nursing home staffing budgets and improve workforce stability amid ongoing retention challenges.
In Iowa as well as Minnesota, where unionized staff members are represented by SEIU Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa, workers will also gain 40 additional vacation hours and full benefits after their probationary period, according to the Minnesota Reformer.
These positive developments for workers follow wage increases being pushed in other states as well, with operators and unions joining hands in Pennsylvania to support higher pay for nursing home workers.
The collaboration between union and providers in Pennsylvania includes $140 million in new funding for long-term care announced this week, which leaders say will improve both care quality and workforce stability, a story in the local CBS affiliate notes.
The SEIU Healthcare PA, the state’s largest health care workers’ union representing nearly 9,000 workers, aligned with the Pennsylvania Health Care Association (PHCA), to strike an agreement over making wage increases for nursing home workers a common goal.
Over 30 nursing homes have closed in Pennsylvania, contributing to growing waitlists and restricted admissions since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“There is an access-to-care crisis in Pennsylvania,” said PHCA President and CEO Zach Shamberg. “We believe by working together, PHCA and SEIU can advocate and influence change exactly when we need it.”
Low wages remain a key concern with advocates pointing out that fast food chains such as McDonald’s and big-box retailers such as Walmart, pay their workers more money than a new CNA can make.
The PHCA said the deal was its “top priority,” with the hope that it will prevent further closures and bolster the workforce needed to meet rising care demands in the state’s aging population.
Both sides agree that efforts focused on worker wellbeing and increased wages have been long overdue.
