BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Unionized Kaleida Health employees were at the bargaining table on Friday, hoping to reach an agreement with Kaleida Health on employee contracts. Representatives from CWA Local 1168 and 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East told 7 News they don't want to strike, it's the "last resort."
A joint statement from both unions states:
"Kaleida’s full-time staff, who report feeling underappreciated and undervalued, continue to see healthcare workers choosing to enter into travel nursing rather than accept or stay in full-time positions at Kaleida because of the understaffing, lower wages, and lack of respect on the job. They are demanding a competitive contract with enforceable staffing ratios and to help recruit local staff to fill vacancies."
Kaleida employees can now strike after Thursday's vote, but must give Kaleida Health a ten day notice.
On Friday Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said he has been in touch with both sides, and is hopeful they reach an agreement. However Poloncarz said plans are being made with hospitals in Rochester, Erie and Pittsburgh in the event there is a strike.
"We stand at the ready," said Poloncarz. "We are putting in plans with the department of health's Emergency Medical Services Division to address what will certainly be something this community has never seen, if it happens."
Poloncarz said the Catholic Health strike last year had substantial impacts, but a strike within Kaleida would be more impactful due to the limitations it would put on many facilities. That includes Buffalo General Hospital, Oishei Children's Hospital, Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, HighPointe on Michigan, DeGraff Medical Park, and other clinics and centers.
7 News spoke with a Kaleida Health representative on Friday, who referred back to Thursday's statement:
“We are eager to get back to the bargaining table tomorrow. The unions have had to focus on the strike vote, so we have not been able to negotiate the past three days. As we have said all along, we do not want a strike, it will be devastating and dangerous for this community.
What we want is a fair contract that appropriately rewards our workforce and positions the organization for the future. That includes no concessionary bargaining, addressing staffing needs, and once again becoming the market leader in wages. We have not wavered from those commitments, but our resources are not endless. In fact, we are trying to negotiate a contract after posting over $200 million in losses since 2020 due to the pandemic. Right now, the current union proposal is estimated at over $500 million. Simply put, those numbers jeopardize the future viability of Kaleida Health.
All that said, we continue our strike contingency planning. This week we met with both the Erie County Health Department as well as the New York State Department of Health to review our updated scenario plans. That includes everything from emergency room access, triaging surgical cases, ambulance transportation as well as coordination with hospitals outside of Western New York that we may need to transfer patients to.
Again, our hope is that those measures will prove unnecessary, but it is critical that we have contingencies in place for the sake of our patients. Patient access and care will remain the priority, no matter the duration or location of a possible work stoppage."
CWA District 1 Area Director, Debbie Hayes sent this statement to 7 News in response to Kaleida’s claim that the unions’ proposal has reached $500 million:
“Kaleida’s claim that our proposal on the table is worth about $500 million dollars is misleading, as the proposal includes language that was agreed to before we began bargaining in March, including our Clinical Staffing Proposals, as now required by the state to ensure safe staffing ratios in hospitals. We are back at the bargaining table today and ready to work with Kaleida to settle a strong, fair contract, but we will not settle for a status quo where quality of care for patients and quality of life for workers continues to diminish. If Kaleida is truly committed to providing the best care to the Buffalo community, management must make a significant investment in order to build back after the pandemic and make the promise of safe staffing ratios a reality.”
Last June, New York State's Safe Staffing Law was signed as a major victory for hospital and nursing home staffers. As a result 1199SEIU and CWA Local 1168 worked with Kaleida management.
Hayes said Kaleida pledged 436 new full-time equivalent positions to meet safe staffing needs, but Kaleida already had 800 vacant positions. Hayes said it leaves Kaleida looking to hire for more than 1,200 openings. It had led many health care workers to express "burnout."
Cori Gambini, President, CWA Local 1168 and a Registered Nurse said:
“A strike is the last thing we want. No one wants to walk off the job, but we are considering all of our options because we are seeing a decline in quality of care that must be reversed.” “As a nurse, it breaks my heart to not be able to give each and every patient the attention they deserve, but it’s also dangerous. It’s dangerous when we are stretched thin, when we are exhausted, and when colleagues continue to leave because they see zero action from Kaleida to attract new hires. We voted to authorize a strike, because if the hospital workers who walk through Kaleida’s doors every day and see the dire situation do not stand up for Buffalo’s residents, who will? Patients and families are frustrated waiting hours for care, even as our staff runs themselves into the ground to try and keep up, and it has to change.”
