A Gift for Anna

ANNA, ILLINOIS

In the end, workers' patience and perseverance drove away the privateers. It took nine years.

When the Anna Veterans Home opened in 1994, it was the only state facility run by a private company. The 50 workers — who were then being paid a $4.67 hourly wage — formed a union with Council 31 in 1995 and became Local 3280. But contract negotiations failed, so workers struck for six weeks. Management settled by offering an 80-percent wage increase over 36 months.

Since then, the local has negotiated better benefits each year, using the threat of strikes to increase pressure. In the meantime, operation of the facility has changed hands four times — all under different private firms.

Council 31 Deputy Dir. Roberta Lynch (an International vice president) points out that the savings to the state to privatize the home came entirely from wages. "Over the last seven years, as we bargained fair contracts, it became clear to the state that there were no substantial savings in keeping Anna private."

Last summer, the other shoe dropped: Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) signed Illinois H.B. 2983, which allowed the state to assume direct operations of the facility. With "the importance of profit removed," Blagojevich said at the signing, "residents and their families will be able to rely on consistent, quality care for aging Illinois veterans."

"Our goal from the outset was to deprivatize," recalls Certified Nursing Assistant Bonnie Brimm, who has worked at the facility since it opened. "We've always maintained that the home will serve the residents better if the state runs it."