BUFFALO (WBEN - Brendan Keany) - A union contract that covers 7,200 health professionals working at various Kaleida Health facilities expired last week when an agreement couldn't be reached.
On Friday afternoon, dozens of healthcare workers gathered outside Oishei Children's Hospital, one of the affected facilities, and pleaded with Kaleida for a new contract.
More from the healthcare workers outside Oishei Children's Hospital. @NewsRadio930 pic.twitter.com/w1WT6ktaUG
— Brendan Keany (@BrendanKeany) June 28, 2019The other affected facilities include DeGraff Memorial Hospital, Millard Fillmore Suburban, Buffalo General Medical Center, HighPointe on Michigan and Kaleida Business Office. The employees are represented by several unions which include 1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East, CWA 1168 and IUOE Local 17.
"We have been bargaining with Kaleida for four months with over 50 bargaining sessions, and it is time to get a fair contract on behalf of all of our members," said CWA Area Director Deborah Hayes.
Michael Hughes serves as the chief of staff for Kaleida, and he released the following statement:
"We will continue to negotiate in good faith in an effort to reach an agreement on a new contract that is fair and reasonable, allows us to invest in our workforce and positions the organization to continue to deliver the highest quality of care for our community well into the future."
Negotiations are expected to resume on Monday, July 1.
