A new study from Health Affairs shows that nursing homes with unionized staff members have had 30% fewer resident deaths from COVID-19 than facilities without unions. In addition, the unionized nursing homes had a 42% smaller COVID infection rate than homes without unions. The study reviewed COVID cases in New York nursing homes from March through May 2020. The authors of the study pointed out that unionized nursing homes benefited from having greater access to PPE, such as N95 masks and face shields, and generally provide better care historically than nursing homes without unions. In addition to the lack of union presence, the study found that facilities fared worse on COVID-19 when they were part of a nursing home chain chain or had poor CNA staffing.