More than 7,000 Kaleida Health workers ratified a new labor agreement. Following three days of balloting, union members voted in favor of the new deal.
The three year contract deal includes a wage increases, pension contributions and maintains current health care plans for employees. The workers are members of 1199SEIU, CWA 1168 and IUOE 17.
“The employees worked tirelessly to reach this agreement," said 1199SEIU rank and file member Antonella Rotilio. “We are pleased that Kaleida recognizes the hard work we do and that we were able to reach a fair agreement.”
The contract settlement was reached after more than 5,000 local health care workers voted in favor of holding a strike if an agreement could not be reached when a former contract expired.
“We are pleased to have the contract ratified,” said James Kaskie, President and CEO of Kaleida Health. “It is an investment in our employees and allows us to deal with an ever-changing health care environment. More importantly, we can now focus on meeting the healthcare needs of the Western New York communities that we serve with safe, quality patient care.”
The three-year contract will be in effect through May 31, 2016.
"I have seen significant changes in the healthcare industry since I became a nurse, so I'm very happy that we can continue making sure patient care doesn't get lost in the whirlwind of change that is going on around us," said Cori Gambini, Registered Nurse and CWA 1168 President. "Our union contract with Kaleida provides us with avenues to ensure we are able to deliver the best care possible for our patients," added Gambini. "We have a strong voice to advocate for things like safe staffing, which is so important to continuing the high standard of care our patients need and deserve."