The 80 certified nursing assistants and therapy assistants who work at Niagara Lutheran Home and Rehabilitation Center in Buffalo voted overwhelmingly to ratify their first contract. The workers at the facility voted to join 1199SEIU last summer.



The three-year contract provides for a 6.5% wage increase, a $200 ratification bonus, an additional holiday and it maintains current health and retirement benefits for the life of the agreement. The contract settlement was reached last Friday after months of difficult negotiations between the 1199ers and Niagara Lutheran management.



“We are thrilled to have our first union contract,” said bargaining committee member and CNA Lawanna Daniel. “We wanted a contract that showed respect for the important work we do caring for our residents. We got it.”



1199 represents every nursing home in the city of Buffalo and over 4,200 workers at 41 nursing homes all throughout Western New York.