For Immediate Release:
Monday, December 17, 2007
Louisville-Based Atria Senior Living's Attempts to Silence Concerned Workers Puts It on "Naughty" List
Atria Caregiver and Kentucky Jobs With Justice Delivers Coal to Atria Assisted Living's Holiday Stocking
LOUISVILLE - A caregiver who works at an Atria Senior Living facility joined with members of Kentucky Jobs With Justice to deliver coal for Atria's holiday stocking at the company's headquarters to let Atria know that its treatment of its employees has put it on the "naughty" list this year.
Atria--a leading company is the fast-growing assisted living industry-is drawing scrutiny from seniors, working families, and health care workers because it is lashing out against its own employees as they move to form an employee organization to voice concerns about improving services and careers at the company.
"I've worked at Atria Lynbrook for ten years and I'm proud of the work we do. But when I started to talk to co-workers about forming an independent organization for Atria employees, Atria suspended me without pay, supposedly because I don't have the proper citizenship documents. In reality, I am renewing my green card and on the way to receiving full citizenship. Atria was trying to send a message to pressure us not to speak out," said Chanmattie Kandasami, an employee at an Atria home in Lynbrook, New York.
Atria Senior Living is one of the largest senior living providers in the country, with more than 140 facilities in 27 states. Atria is owned by an investment fund affiliated with Lazard (NYSE: LAZ), a large Wall Street firm that manages more than $140 billion globally.
The Campaign to Improve Assisted Living is an SEIU Healthcare campaign uniting assisted living caregivers with residents, family members, and senior advocates to stand for quality services for seniors and a voice on the job for caregivers. More than one million healthcare workers in hospitals, nursing homes, and in-home care have united in SEIU Healthcare for quality care and quality jobs.