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AFSCME Council 5 has organized a second group home system in the Duluth area. On April 24 the National Labor Relations Board issued a “certificate of representative” for AFSCME following a January counting of ballots at AHL Healthcare Group, which does business as At Home Living Facilities, Inc.
AHL has 8 homes and their corporate offices in Duluth, and two homes in Two Harbors. It also has a home in Anoka and Washington counties that weren’t part of the organizing effort.
The contested vote found 22 for the union, 21 against, and 6 contested ballots. The bargaining unit has 77 employees.
Last September, AFSCME Council 5 won an historic organizing victory when workers at the Duluth area’s Stepping Stones for Living voted 94 to 22 to be represented by AFSCME for the purpose of collective bargaining. It was the first union organizing win at a private, for profit group home system in Minnesota. At the time Stepping Stones had 17 group homes from Esko, MN to Hawk Ridge in Duluth employing 173 workers.
AFSCME Council 5 Organizer Adrienne Kern said she thinks AHL is only the second group home system organized in Minnesota. Both SSL and AHL had similar situations that made employees want to get a better shake out of their jobs.
“Safety at work, adequate training, adequate staffing, and a decent wage doesn’t hurt,” Kern said about those employees assessing their jobs. Because of the poor working conditions turnover was high at AHL at 41%. At SSL turnover was about the same, which is hard on residents and staff workers have said.
Kern said when SSL workers started their get out the vote work for their organizing drive and election last fall some AHL workers heard about it.
“Some of the At Home workers were roommates and some were friends of Stepping Stones workers and so we had At Home workers showing up to help the Stepping Stones workers win their election,” Kern said. “They got energized by the campaign, and it streamlined right into a campaign for At Home workers.”
Almost all the workers at SSL were young and had no experience with unions but they knew they weren’t earning a living while owners were getting rich. Kern said the AHL workers are little more diverse in their ages.
“They’re in their 30s, 40s, and even 50s but many are long time employees,” Kern said.
AFSCME and Stepping Stones are still in negotiations on a first contract.