Fed up with management’s foot-dragging, Registered Nurses (RNs) and Respiratory Therapists (RTs), members of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, sent a legally required 10-day notice for an informational picket to management at Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center last week. Months of contract negotiations have not resulted in a settlement that the caregivers say is critical to protecting continuity of care for the sick and vulnerable pediatric patients at the Center. The picket is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, December 9, between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. In the meantime, negotiations will continue, with at least 2 bargaining sessions scheduled before the picket date.
1199SEIU members at the Center provide care to 137 severely ill children. Recently much attention has been focused on the Center’s $24 million expansion project that is slated to accommodate 32 more children who are dependent on ventilators. Acknowledging the importance of this project, the caregivers want to make certain that the public is also aware that short staffing and diminishing continuity of care are issues of great concern that must be immediately addressed. The 1199SEIU Seton caregivers say that their co-workers, professionals who love their work, are leaving the Center. Wages are below market rates, there are unjust terminations and there is a general lack of respect for the staff. To make matters worse, management has been targeting union activists; some have been disciplined and suspended, others have been terminated.The actual number of staff varies from day-to-day and week-to-week, because of this revolving door of departures and new hires.
Coraminita Mahr, 1199SEIU Vice President said the situation for both children and workers is intolerable.
“One of our major goals in these negotiations is to secure the staffing needed to care for our patients. These are severely sick children, deserving of not only quality medical care, but also the social interaction that comes with caregiving. We are entrusted with the care of these sick, frail and vulnerable children, but management’s actions have created short staffing and a crisis situation that must be remedied as soon as possible.”
Across New York State, 1199SEIU contracts are well known for providing good wages and affordable benefits, as well as procedures to fairly address workplace issues. Mahr said,
“Time and again employers understand that good, stable healthcare jobs help reduce high rates of turnover and result in better patient outcomes. We want to see the same thing here for the children and the caregivers at Elizabeth Seton.”
An informational picket is not a strike or work-stoppage. The December 9 informational picket to inform the public about the current situation at Elizabeth Seton will take place on the workers’ own time. There will be no disruption of work schedules. 160 RNs and RTs became 1199SEIU members in June 2013 and still do not have a contract. In addition to the RNs and RTs, the Center also employs 146 service and maintenance workers who became 1199SEIU members fifteen years ago. Their current contract expired on April 30, 2015 and bargaining has not started yet. They too will join the picket line.
1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America. We represent over 400,000 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.
1199SEIU members at the Center provide care to 137 severely ill children. Recently much attention has been focused on the Center’s $24 million expansion project that is slated to accommodate 32 more children who are dependent on ventilators. Acknowledging the importance of this project, the caregivers want to make certain that the public is also aware that short staffing and diminishing continuity of care are issues of great concern that must be immediately addressed. The 1199SEIU Seton caregivers say that their co-workers, professionals who love their work, are leaving the Center. Wages are below market rates, there are unjust terminations and there is a general lack of respect for the staff. To make matters worse, management has been targeting union activists; some have been disciplined and suspended, others have been terminated.The actual number of staff varies from day-to-day and week-to-week, because of this revolving door of departures and new hires.
Coraminita Mahr, 1199SEIU Vice President said the situation for both children and workers is intolerable.
“One of our major goals in these negotiations is to secure the staffing needed to care for our patients. These are severely sick children, deserving of not only quality medical care, but also the social interaction that comes with caregiving. We are entrusted with the care of these sick, frail and vulnerable children, but management’s actions have created short staffing and a crisis situation that must be remedied as soon as possible.”
Across New York State, 1199SEIU contracts are well known for providing good wages and affordable benefits, as well as procedures to fairly address workplace issues. Mahr said,
“Time and again employers understand that good, stable healthcare jobs help reduce high rates of turnover and result in better patient outcomes. We want to see the same thing here for the children and the caregivers at Elizabeth Seton.”
An informational picket is not a strike or work-stoppage. The December 9 informational picket to inform the public about the current situation at Elizabeth Seton will take place on the workers’ own time. There will be no disruption of work schedules. 160 RNs and RTs became 1199SEIU members in June 2013 and still do not have a contract. In addition to the RNs and RTs, the Center also employs 146 service and maintenance workers who became 1199SEIU members fifteen years ago. Their current contract expired on April 30, 2015 and bargaining has not started yet. They too will join the picket line.
1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America. We represent over 400,000 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.
