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Caregivers Strike Continues At Infinity Healthcare Nursing Homes; Workers Want Better Wages, Pandemic Pay

CHICAGO (CBS) -- This is day 10 of a strike by caregivers at Infinity Healthcare nursing homes.

Nearly 700 workers have walked off the job at 11 Chicago area facilities. On Wednesday morning they were back on the picket line. There were caregivers gathered outside Lakeview Rehab and Nursing Center near Diversey and Halsted on Wednesday.

Faith leaders, including Father Michael Pfleger and the Reverend Jesse Jackson joined them in support. They said the workers are being paid poverty-level wages, and that pandemic pay for many of them stopped in July, all for a job they said is difficult and sometimes frightening.

"This has always been a hard job. Now it's a dangerous job as we see COVID-19 ravaging nursing homes. We've seen over 6,000 deaths in nursing homes across this state, many in for-profit nursing homes just like this," said Shaba Andrich, VP Nursing Homes, SEIU.

The workers said they began bargaining for a new contract in June. CBS 2 reached out to Infinity Healthcare Management for comment and have not heard back yet.

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