Workers at Woodlake Nursing Home in New Hope are starting a five-day strike on Friday.

More than 180 union members at the nursing home walked off the job after filing a 10-day notice to the company to start picketing in the bitter cold.

Workers say their key issue is the employer not keeping promises on pay and benefits during a change in ownership this year, along with other issues such as rising workloads and short staffing. According to the workers, it is difficult to give proper care to the patients at Woodlake Nursing Home, which was previously owned by St. Therese.

The union says there have been a dozen meetings with Woodlake since August.

“We are the ones that take care of the residents without us there would be no business, the resident wouldn’t be taken care of. I believe we deserve everything we’re asking for,” said Monyou Taye, a nursing assistant.

Woodlake issued the following statement on Friday afternoon:

“At Woodlake, we are committed to creating a great workplace for our employees. We are proud of the steps we have taken as an organization to support our incredible team.

A strike is unnecessary. In the few months since the transition of ownership, we have not decreased the number of staff, amount of pay, benefits, or seniority and we have negotiated in good faith to reach a fair contract. To prepare for the strike we have taken steps to ensure that we have the appropriate staffing to ensure that our residents will continue to receive the safe, quality care they deserve.

We respect the employees’ right to organize and remain committed to fostering a positive relationship with the union and look forward to reaching an agreement on the contract.”