Union hits health co. on ‘Gouging Grandma’

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Union activists protested outside the Financial District offices of Lazard Ltd., accusing the private-equity firm of engaging in “Gouging Grandma” tactics at assisted-living facilities in the Boston area and across the nation.

The Service Employees International Union - which has been trying to organize thousands of workers at Atria Senior Living centers nationwide - said it timed its protests in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco with the release of a “short film” outlining claims of Atria’s “mistreatment of workers and elderly tenants.”

The five-minute clip, called “Gouging Grandma” and directed by Robert Greenwald, is being touted by the SEIU as it wages a bitter labor battle against Lazard, whose chief executive, Bruce Wasserstein, is also a partner at Lazard Alternatives Investments, which owns Atria.

“We wanted to send a message,” said Charles Lundy, one of three SEIU members who distributed leaflets and DVDs outside Lazard’s High Street office.


Boston Herald