Employees at Western New York's largest healthcare provider could be walking a picket line soon. The 7,000 unionized workers at Kaleida Health have given the green light to call a strike if the two sides fail to agree on a new contract.
Kaleida Health Vice President Michael Hughes says for now it's business as usual and there is no interruption in patient care.
"This strike authorization vote that they took really is a tactic that unions use in negotiations. You recall just less than six months ago, they did the same thing down the street with the Catholic Health system and it never came to a strike where the workers actually walked out ," Hughes says.
Hughes says after a two-week break requested by the unions talks resume today with a federal mediator. He says so far, Kaleida has not received a ten-day strike notice as required by law.