Health Care Workers Win at Westgate!
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1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
Upstate New York Division
Service Employees International Union
225 West Broad Street, Suite B
Rochester, New York 14608
Telephone: (585)-244-0830
Fax: (585)-244-0956
Website: www.1199seiu.org
MEDIA RELEASE DECEMBER 15, 2008
TENTATIVE AGREEMENT REACHED IN DISPUTE AT WESTGATE NURSING HOME
PICKETING STOPS AFTER TWO HOURS WHEN SETTLEMENT IS ANNOUNCED
(Gates, NY) - Employees of Westgate Nursing Home delayed their planned picketing this morning while union and management met to hammer out a settlement of the multi-year labor dispute. When no agreement was reached by 1 pm, the workers took to the street and marched in front of the facility on Beahan Road. In a dramatic turn of events, less than two hours later, union officials announced that a tentative agreement had been reached. The picket stopped.
"I am very glad that we have won our first union contract." said Michelle Lane, a certified nursing assistant. "I thank my coworkers for sticking together and I thank the community for their support."
Details of the final settlement will be released after Westgate workers have voted on the proposed contract, their first ever. No date for the vote has yet been set.
Employees of Westgate had notified the facility of their intent to picket when talks broke down last Thursday over economic issues. Calls between management and union officials resulted in a hastily called negotiating session this morning attended by a Federal Mediator.
Eighty staff of the facility are involved. They work as licensed practical nurses, certified nursing assistants, dietary, housekeeping, and other service assistants. They have been without a raise in pay for the last five years. The workers organized a chapter of 1199 SEIU in 2004, and have been negotiating for a first contract since 2005.
Westgate Nursing Home is a 124 bed, for-profit long tern care facility located at 525 Beahan Road in Gates, New York.
The workers are members of 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. 1199 SEIU members in the Rochester area work at the UR Medical Center, Jordan Health Center, Wesley Gardens, Latta Road, and Aaron Manor nursing homes, and at the Blossom nursing centers.
For further information, please contact Dana Alas at (585) 738-2698 (cellphone).
