Raising nursing home standards helps all of us

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Just two short months ago, I stood in front of a wall of cameras waiting to hear what I had to say. I am not a politician or a celebrity: I’m a nursing home worker who refuses to stay silent in the midst of a crisis.

It wasn’t just me and my voice up there. Along with my union and workers across the nursing home industry, we spoke on behalf of those who are often silenced: Our residents, their loved ones, and the non-unionized nursing home workers who don’t have the protections my colleagues and I do.

On that day two months ago, we cleared a hurdle we’ve been working toward for years. The Minnesota Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board — which was created by the Legislature in 2023 to conduct investigations into working conditions in the industry and establish minimum employment standards — voted to raise the minimum wage of nursing home workers to at least $20.50 per hour (much more for many), while guaranteeing overtime pay for 11 state holidays that nursing home workers can’t just take off. For CNAs and LPNs, their hourly minimum wage would climb to $24 and $28.50 per hour, respectively. If included in the final budget in August, these standards would begin in 2026.

Every nursing home worker in Minnesota would feel the impact of these standards, whether it’s through a new living wage to provide for their family or the relief of knowing you are fully staffed on your next shift. As a laundry and housekeeping worker, it’s especially powerful to see my work, food service workers, medication aides, and others who are often overlooked be recognized in these groundbreaking reforms.

To me, the new standards would be nothing short of life-changing. I’ve been doing this work for almost 13 years, yet I have never made more than $19 per hour. In the last decade, my pay has only increased from $16 to just $18.83 an hour. If it weren’t for my husband’s health plan, I wouldn’t make it. Paying for health care on my paycheck isn’t even in the realm of possibility.

My story isn’t unique. It’s the all-too-common tale of why the nursing home industry is in a staffing crisis. How can you recruit and retain workers when the pay is so low? The standards board brings accountability to all nursing homes, including the private equity and for-profit companies looking to take advantage of an empathetic care workforce by paying workers lower wages. To be clear: The state is investing in nursing home operators, including allocating $300 million last year, but it hasn’t made its way to the very people who provide the care and quality of living that our residents deserve.

Nursing home workers and residents can’t wait any longer for change. The burnout is real, while Minnesota has the highest nursing home staffing shortages in the country. With the baby boomer generation hitting their golden years, nursing homes aren’t prepared to meet the tremendous demand.

The Nursing Home Worker Standards Board was the first of its kind in the country to tackle our industry’s great challenges, bringing together workers, operators and the government, while also having the power to actually raise standards. We are close to the finish line, but we have a few more steps to go before our first round of standards are final.

Until July 24, members of the public can provide input on the pay and holiday standards voted on in April before they land in the final budget in August. I encourage everyone to weigh in with the board. We are all affected by this work, whether through a loved one who needs nursing home care or the prospect that one day you may need it for yourself.

At the end of the day, all our residents and their loved ones want is quality care and a peace of mind. All we ask in return is for that same peace of mind to care for ourselves and our families.

Teresa Brees is a nursing home housekeeping and laundry worker in Roseville and a member of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota & Iowa.