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Massachusetts Quality Jobs Campaign Delivers Petition to Governor

January 19, 2016

The Quality Jobs for Quality Care Campaign in Massachusetts presented a petition to Gov. Charlie Baker (R) on January 5, urging him to support better jobs for certified nursing assistants (CNAs).

More than 8,000 people signed the petition, which calls for Baker to include allocate $90 million (pdf) toward a living wage for nursing home workers.

CNAs haven’t seen a wage increase in eight years, Ned Morse, president of the Massachusetts Senior Care Association, the organization behind the campaign.

“More than half of our Certified Nurse Aides rely on some sort of public assistance, and many can’t afford life’s necessities,” Morse told the website GoLocalWorcester. “We are asking the Governor and other political leaders to embrace our Quality Jobs for Quality Care initiative.”

The campaign’s petition additionally calls for the creation of a scholarship training program for CNAs, which would merge elements of the Adult Basic Education and English as a Second Language programs with CNA training.

Launched in November 2015, the Quality Jobs for Quality Care Campaign works toward improving care for residents of Massachusetts skilled nursing facilities by bolstering job quality for CNAs.

The campaign concurrently released a report suggesting ways to strengthen Massachusetts’s CNA workforce.

— by Matthew Ozga

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