Unionized nursing homes in deep-blue state trail the pack as analysis reveals ratings gap

By Fox News · Fox News

FIRST ON FOX: California nursing homes with unionized staff received lower average federal quality ratings than facilities without confirmed union presence, according to a new report. "Union presence in a CMS-certified registered home appears to lower its CMS rating by almost 10 percent," a new report published by the Center for Union Facts (CUF), a right-of-center organization critical of organized labor, reviewed by Fox News Digital found. The Department of Health and Human Services, through its Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, scores nursing homes on a five-star scale based on how well they perform on health inspections, the number of staff present relative to patients, how much care patients are provided and the overall quality of care residents receive. The CUF analysis of federal CMS nursing-home ratings found that California facilities with unionized staff received ratings roughly 10% lower on average than facilities without a union presence, even after the study controlled for median county household income. TOP UNION CALLS COPS ON ITSELF TO ORCHESTRATE ‘CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE’ STUNT AT GOP OFFICE: SOURCE Non-union facilities averaged 3.17 stars, compared with 3.02 for unionized facilities, 2.96 for SEIU-unionized facilities and 2.86 for facilities represented by SEIU Local 2015, which represents long-term care workers in California nursing homes and home-care settings, according to the report. After accounting for the income of the surrounding area, CUF found that unionization corresponded to a rating decrease of roughly 0.3 stars. CUF argued the ratings gap warrants scrutiny of the Service Employees International Union' s (SEIU) role in California long-term care, pointing to prior allegations about the union’s internal culture and workplace disputes as a possible explanation for the discrepancy in ratings. The report does not establish that union representation caused the lower ratings. Some studies have found that unionization at healthcare facili…