Brenda McNeal and Shirley Walker work hard for the patients at Bettendorf Healthcare (BHC), a Quad Cities’ nursing home. But they work just as hard making sure the employees get a fair shake in the workplace.
Brenda, a housekeeper at BHC for almost eight years, said it’s a real simple formula.

Brenda McNeal

She tells her fellow employees, “If you want more money, sign the card.” Moreover, she encourages the other workers to always “keep your head up high.” And if people are called into a manager’s office, she makes sure that either she or Shirley goes with them.

Shirley, a CNA who works third shift, said that when she started working at BHC, she joined the union right away because she had seen the benefits of collective bargaining through her husband, who is a worksite leader for another union.

When she started more than half the people at BHC had never even heard of the union, she said. The had 20 percent membership. Now they have more than 60 percent membership and are shooting to top 75 percent by the end of the year.

Those strong numbers “have definitely changed things for the good,” Shirley said.                           

The attitude that CNAs and other types of employees are a “dime a dozen” is changing at BHC. “The administration and

Shirley Walker

The pair also gives a lot of credit to Bradley Van Waus, the staff representative for the chapter. “Bradley is awesome,” said Brenda. “He speaks up for us and lets us know our rights.”

With a wage “reopener” coming up in the near future, Brenda and Shirley are hopeful that their strong chapter membership will translate into: wages that are more comparable to other long-term care facilities in the area, and improved staffing
levels. “We are not easily intimidated,” Shirley explains. “They know that we know what’s going on,” added Brenda.