Care and Dignity Triumphs: Alabama Nursing Home Workers at Diversicare Pell City Join RWDSU Mid-South Council

In a powerful step forward for worker justice in the South, nursing home workers in Alabama have voted overwhelmingly to join the RWDSU Mid-South Council, winning their union election and their seat at the table. This victory isn’t just a win for these workers—it’s a win for every caregiver who has ever been underpaid, overworked, and underappreciated while doing one of the most vital jobs in our communities.

Marisol Urena-Gonzalez, RWDSU Mid-South Council Vice President and Business Representitive and Ms. Evans a Diversicare Med-Tech, who we started the organizing campaign at the care center.

Organizing in the South: A Fight Worth Fighting

Organizing in the South has never been easy with daily challenges including the civil rights of workers and some of the weakest labor laws and enforcement in the country. From anti-union rhetoric to employer intimidation, workers in Southern states face steep challenges when standing up for their rights. But that’s exactly what makes this win and the work that the RWDSU Mid-South Council does every day so meaningful and important.

“Without change, nothing changes,” said Randy Hadley, President of the RWDSU Mid-South Council. “That’s our motto for a reason and it’s why we do the work we do every day to make the changes we need at workplace after workplace to make the lives of working people across the South better. That’s the only way.”

“Workers in the South are told every day that they don’t have power—that we should be grateful for what we’re given,” said Allen Gregory, Secretary-Treasurer of the RWDSU Mid-South Council. “But these nursing home workers just proved otherwise. They stood together, demanded more, and won. That’s the power of a union.”

Care Work Is Essential Work

The workers at Diversicare Pell City nursing home provide compassionate, hands-on care to some of the community’s most vulnerable residents—our parents, grandparents, and loved ones. They bathe, feed, comfort, and advocate for those who can’t always advocate for themselves. But despite the critical nature of their work, far too many care workers face low wages, long hours, unsafe staffing levels, and little to no voice in the workplace.

Organizing in the nursing home industry is about more than wages—it’s about respect, safety, and dignity for both caregivers and the people they care for.

Building a Better Future, Together

Now, with a union behind them, these workers will begin the process of negotiating their first contract—one that reflects the value of their work and their right to a fair, safe, and respectful workplace. It’s a fight that won’t be easy, but it’s one they won’t face alone.

The RWDSU Mid-South Council is proud to welcome Diversicare Pell City workers to our union family, to begin bargaining a fair contract and to continue building worker power in a region where it’s needed most. Every victory like this one chips away at the idea that workers in the South can’t organize—and sends a clear message: we can, and we will.