Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Members of 1199SEIU are going on one day strikes at 9 area nursing homes. They are seeking fair wages, with a minimum wage of $15 per hour.
Emmanuel White with 1199SEIU says the main sticking point is pay. "The employers are refusing to pay a $15 an hour minimum wage for all service workers, and higher set rates for new employees," says White. He also wants a standardized wait scale, based on experience that will help to retain current employees.
James Funderburk, Housekeeper at Elderwood at Williamsville, says staffing levels have been terrible. "They have been filling the open shifts with temp agency aides, which is bad in itself, because they're getting paid double of what the long tenure people are making there," says Funderburk. He says they're doing just as much, if not less work than the people who has who have been there who are employed through the actual facility. He says workers feel unhappy they have to train temp workers for 3 days as they get more money.
He says residents are also not happy. "The residents are not comfortable enough with the temp agency aid to form some type of chemistry with them," explains Funderburk. He says residents agitated and annoyed at times just because of the new faces that are in the building.
Strikes are taking place Tuesday from 7 a.m. ET to 5 p.m. ET at:
1.) **Autumn View Health Care Facility, 4650 Southwestern Blvd, Hamburg, NY 14075
2.) Fiddler’s Green Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, 168 W Main St, Springville, NY 14141
3.) Gowanda Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, 100 Miller St, Gowanda, NY 14070
4.) Humboldt House Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, 64 Hager St, Buffalo, NY 14208
5.) Seneca Health Care Center, 2987 Seneca St, West Seneca, NY 14224
And Wednesday from 7 a.m. ET to 5 p.m. ET at:
1.) **Elderwood at Lockport, 104 Old Niagara Rd, Lockport, NY 14094
2.) Elderwood at Williamsville, 200 Bassett Rd, Williamsville, NY 14221
3.) Garden Gate Health Care Facility, 2365 Union Rd, Cheektowaga, NY 14227
4.) North Gate Health Care Facility, 7624 Nash Rd, North Tonawanda, NY 14120