The United Healthcare Union Works East Union Wins Contract Negotiation With Resistant Nuvance Health

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The United Healthcare Union Works East union 1199SEIU has been working aggressively to get improvements in their employment contract. This April 2023, 1199SEIU Members In NY’s Hudson Valley have ratified a contract after more than a year of tense negotiations with Nuvance Health, which is based in Connecticut.

Key contract highlights include: Annual raises of 3.5% in 2023, 2024, 2025; Increases minimum rates up to 10%; Juneteenth as an additional premium holiday, according to the union’s press release.

From the United Healthcare Union Works East Press Release:

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More than 1,500 members of 1199SEIU, the nation’s largest healthcare union, have voted overwhelmingly to ratify a contract that will improve the lives of the workers, their families and patients, and will also help to recruit and retain staff

The 3-day ratification vote, which took place on April 19, 20 and 21, was the culmination of more than a year of contentious negotiations. With constant stalling on behalf of the employer and little progress being made, the healthcare workers were forced to hold several informational pickets, joined with concerned elected officials and patients at press conferences, held a car caravan to inform the public and contact Board members, and demanded dozens of meetings with management (away from the negotiating table.)

The Bargaining Units:

First Union Contract:

  • Technical Workers at Northern Dutchess

  • BioMed Engineers at Vassar/Putnam

  • Radiation Therapists at Vassar Putnam

Extending Contract:

  • Vassar Brothers Medical Center

  • Putnam Hospital

Contract Highlights:

  • Annual raises of 3.5% in 2023, 2024, 2025

  • Increases minimum rates up to 10%

  • Juneteenth as an additional premium holiday

  • Long-time members continue their no-cost, comprehensive health benefits through the 1199 National Benefit Fund

  • New members to be covered by the 1199 National Benefit Fund effective 12/1/24

Background: New York’s healthcare system is facing an unprecedented crisis. Three years since the first COVID case was confirmed in New York, patients and workers continue to face pandemic’s aftershocks. Emergency rooms are overflowing, patients wait interminably for lab results, and healthcare workers are fed up and leaving the industry. This contract aims to recruit and retain workers and bring back the type of care that Hudson Valley residents have enjoyed in decades past.

Said Michael Dick, Biomedical Engineer, Vassar:

"As a lifetime member of this community, this is much more significant than a win for the ‘people who work here.’ This is a victory for the entire community. This organization is meant to serve ALL of us. With the support of 1199 and the entirety of its membership, we look forward to bringing back the Vassar we know.”

Said Daniel Duffy, Radiation Therapist, Putnam:

“After three years of being persistent and at the same time being patient, we have our contract. I think, I hope, Nuvance may now see us as a valuable asset to their organization.”

Said Greg Speller, 1199 Executive Vice President:

“We are very happy that our members prevailed and won important collective bargaining agreements that will benefit healthcare workers and patients. Special praise goes to the workers who fought hard for their first contracts; technical workers at Northern Dutchess Hospital, and staff in the biomedical and radiation therapy departments at Vassar and Putnam.”

It must be noted that this was markedly different from other negotiations with other hospital systems.

Sadly, Nuvance treated their healthcare workers poorly in this process. Instead of coming to the table and agreeing to good terms (that the 1199 healthcare workers eventually forced upon them), management fought, stalled and disrespected their workers—during the same time they were getting all of us through a global pandemic. This out-of-state hospital operator must treat their workers much more respectfully, given what the workers have done for their communities and continue to do for their communities.”

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1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America. We represent over 450,000 nurses and caregivers throughout Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Our mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all.

Nursing Home Workers At 20+ Nursing Homes Demonstrate For Transparency and Investment - Including The Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing at River Valley

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According to a press released issued by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East:

“1199SEIU nursing home workers in Poughkeepsie are among the hundreds of members of 1199SEIU Healthcare Workers East, the nation’s largest healthcare union, who will be holding demonstrations and vigils at more than 20 nursing homes across New York State, calling for greater transparency and investment in quality resident care.

“Actions will also be held at nursing homes in Schenectady, Erie, Jefferson, Monroe, Nassau, Niagara, Onondaga, Oneida, and Suffolk counties and New York City. Many of these facilities have low average hours of care per resident, use a high number of related parties to hide profits, or otherwise rank poorly in care quality.

“‘For far too long, nursing homes around New York State have made investment in resident care an afterthought,’” said Milly Silva, Executive Vice President of the Nursing Home Division.

“‘We are calling on these for-profit nursing homes to prioritize and invest in people – the residents and the workers who care for them day in and day out. Our members have been battling COVID-19 for the last year, but issues like low wages and a lack of adequate time to devote to individual patient care existed pre-COVID. Our goal is to enact real reforms to raise standards within the industry, and ensure that meaningful investment is made in residents and workers once and for all,’” Silva continued.

“The demonstrations are the latest actions led by the union to call attention to the need for systemic reform of the nursing home industry. Last week, 1199SEIU launched a multi-million dollar ad campaign, Invest in Quality Care, to press the legislature to ensure nursing homes focus on quality care to protect residents and the dedicated workers who care for them, rather than maximizing profits. On Valentine’s Day, members across New York engaged in a virtual “sticker” campaign, using social media to urge their State Assemblymembers and Senators to enact key reforms and ensure the most vulnerable in the state get the investment and care they need.

Lourdes Torres, an LPN at The Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing at River Valley, said: “Forty residents. Two aides. And me. How is it possible for me to meet the needs of my residents? Today, I tried to spend time with a very scared man who recently almost died from COVID and still has a lot of anxiety. He has no family other than those of us who take care of him at River Valley. But there were 39 other people who needed my attention, and I had to walk away. He was upset. And I was upset. So many co-workers have left or are planning to leave. That’s terrible for continuity of care. It’s terrible for those of us left. But I understand. It feels unbearable so often. The state needs to make changes in how nursing homes owners do business.”

“1199SEIU’s Invest in Quality Care campaign points out that Instead of investing in enough staff to ensure quality care for residents, many nursing home owners are hiding their profits by sub-contracting services to companies they own, often at inflated prices.

“1199SEIU and its members are calling on Governor Cuomo and the State Legislature to pass systemic reform for the nursing home industry to improve transparency, hold operators accountable for misconduct, and ensure they prioritize resident care over maximized profits.

“As New York Attorney General Letitia James found in a shocking new report on the impact of COVID-19 on nursing homes, “the current state reimbursement model for nursing homes gives a financial incentive to owners of for-profit nursing homes to transfer funds to related parties (ultimately increasing their own profit) instead of investing in higher levels of staffing and PPE.”

About 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East

1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America. We represent over 450,000 nurses and caregivers throughout New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Their mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all.