BUFFALO (WBEN) - "The union has been fighting for us in this contract since February, and here we are in October," said Diane Peach on the picket line outside Mercy Hospital Monday.
Peach is one of the more than 2,000 CWA Mercy healthcare workers who began their strike against Catholic Health 11 days ago.
"Us being out here, hopefully it will sink in their heads to give us a contract that will be worthy of us getting back to work and being there for our patients," Peach continued.
Many, such as former Buffalo General President Larry Zielinski, didn't anticipate a strike would ever occur in the first place, but now that Tuesday marks day 12, concern is growing.
"There are no winners, and the losers, the biggest losers, are the patients of Mercy Hospital," he said.
Art Wheaton serves as director of Western New York Labor and Environmental Programs for the Worker Institute at Cornell, and he is baffled as to why these contract negotiations are being played out in the media on both sides.
"The standard rule for collective bargaining is that you never bargain in the press - you don't want to negotiate in the media," said Wheaton. "The time when you do start talking to the press is if one side or the other is being extremely difficult to deal with, so you feel like you have to get your message out. Having any discussions with the media is a big breakdown in trust and communication, so this shows they're still quite a ways apart."
"What I would say to both sides is to stop negotiating in the media," Zielinski added. "This is a posturing and it's normal, and you want public opinion on your side, but negotiating in the media, while it makes for juicy news, it is not an effective negotiating strategy."
Zielinski believes hospital conditions are the biggest sticking point at the moment, specifically in regard to staffing quotas.
"The financial issues are obviously numbers, so generally those are sometimes easier to resolve than the working conditions, and the working conditions that seem to be the sticking point here are the staffing ratios that the union is requesting or demanding," said Zielinski.
Catholic Health released some of the details of their latest proposal Monday afternoon:
Wages
-Some associates would see pay increases of up to 25% in the first year.
-Registered nurses would see an average increase of 4.3% in the first year.
-Service, technical, and clerical associates would see average increases of 9% in the first year.
-All associates would make at least $15/hour.
Staffing
-Increases staffing levels on our staffing grids/plans to align with agreed-upon ratios.
-Adds more than 250 new positions.
-Stipulates staffing for 10% above the average daily census.
-Provides bonus pay if the staffing goals aren’t met.
“Catholic Health is ready to welcome Mercy Hospital associates back to work. We want them back, and we believe they are eager to come back,” said Catholic Health spokesperson JoAnn Cavanaugh.
