LOS ANGELES (October 31, 2025)—Dressed in Halloween costumes but sending a serious message, care workers at La Brea Rehabilitation Center took to the picket line today to demand that management stop ghosting its responsibility to invest in its workforce and its residents’ care.
Despite receiving more than $1.2 million in taxpayer-funded Workforce Standards Program dollars in 2024 and 2025—money specifically intended to raise wages, improve staffing, and make nursing homes safer—La Brea has failed to deliver. Instead, workers say management has worked them to the bone and bled them dry, creating unsafe conditions for caregivers and residents alike.
California’s nursing homes already face chronic staffing shortages, but workers at La Brea say the situation has become truly scary. High turnover, low pay, and burnout have left employees scrambling to cover shifts and residents struggling to receive consistent care.
“After 38 years working in this facility, I know how critical it is that we win a contract that truly invests in workers,” said Maria Catedral, CNA at La Brea Rehabilitation Center. “Management has the resources to do what’s right. We need real raises and real staffing solutions because we and our residents deserve more than broken promises.”
La Brea care workers who are members of SEIU Local 2015, the nation’s largest long-term-care union, are calling on management to:
- Use the $1.2 million in public funds as intended to strengthen staffing, improve safety, and support quality care;
- End the revolving door of underpaid, overworked staff that leads to burnout and turnover; and
- Respect the people who make the facility run—frontline caregivers who show up every day for residents.
“Our nursing home workers have been the lifeline for residents through every crisis—from the pandemic to today’s staffing shortages,” said SEIU 2015 President Arnulfo De La Cruz. “They shouldn’t have to fight this hard for fair pay and safe staffing while management hides behind excuses. La Brea must stop ghosting its obligations and start investing in the people who make quality care possible.”
This Halloween-themed picket is more than theatrics—it’s a demand for accountability. Workers and community allies rallied to shine a light on how La Brea’s inaction is hurting both caregivers and the residents who depend on them.
Participating SEIU 2015 members are available for interviews. They can speak about the ongoing staffing crisis, their demands for fair pay and safe conditions, and how La Brea can turn these taxpayer funds into real improvements instead of empty promises.
To learn more about SEIU Local 2015, visit www.SEIU2015.org or follow @SEIU2015 on social media.