Union Says December 24 Strike Looming At Sierra Hills In Cheyenne

An official with the United Steelworkers Union says a temporary strike  is looming at the Sierra Hills Assisted Living Center in Cheyenne unless some kind of agreement can be reached by December 24.

Will Wilkinson is a regional representative with the United Steelworkers Union. He says his union represents the employees at Sierra Hills. He says the employees formed a union in February of 2024 and accuses the company that owns Sierra Hills, Edgewood Healthcare, of 'violating the law over a dozen times' since then. He alleges the violations include such things as providing false information, bad faith bargaining, and retaliation against Sierra Hills employees.

Wilkinson says healthcare workers are one of the fastest-growing groups of workers represented by the United Steelworkers.

A pair of calls on Friday and again on Monday by Townsquare Media seeking comment from Edgewood on the situation were not returned.

Wilkinson says that the union has not yet started discussing wages with Edgewood, but has been focusing on safety issues.

Wilkinson Says Hospice Care, Bedbugs Are Issues

He says one problem is that company brought in hospice care "creating a lot of difficulty for the employees, where they are doing work that is out of the scope of their facility, where they feel it's a danger to the residents and a danger to them."

He says bedbugs have also been found at Sierra Hills.

''We want booties, we want masks, gloves...we want to increase the safety there, and the company is not meeting us at all on that'' Wilkinson said. ''They don't want to work with the union in any way, shape or form, they don't want the union to say anything" he added. He says the union simply wants to increase safety for the residents of Sierra Hills.

Wilkinson says about 40 people work at Sierra Hills.

In regard to the care of Sierra Hills residents if a strike is called, Wilkinson says that since the company had 12 days of advance, notice 'they would bring in travelers, they would bring in a temp agency to fill like the housekeeping and dietary, and then they would bring in travelers to fill the other spots.''

He adds that a lot of the leadership of Edgewood are Registered Nurses or former Certified Nursing Assistants 'so if need be they would have to go in there and do that work."

Wilkinson says the December 24 strike, if it happens, would be a temporary strike, with the workers returning to their jobs after a few days regardless of whether an agreement has been reached. But he says if that doesn't work, the next step could be a permanent strike.

You can hear the entire interview with Will Wilkinson in the attached audio file below.