Stand up for workers. Stand up for Brooks Memorial. Stand up for us.

July 29, 2014

Stand up and show your support for Brooks Memorial by signing the petition!

Brooks Memorial, a 65-bed hospital in Dunkirk, NY has been seeking ways to bring in revenue, like many hospitals around the country. At the same time, the hospital administration has been making little headway in contract negotiations with one hundred and seventy-five 1199SEIU healthcare workers, who keep the hospital running. These are direct caregivers, technical and clerical employees and the maintenance workers who keep the hospital clean and safe.



Anything that happens at the hospital affects the entire community. The patients and workers are all family, friends and neighbors.



The hospital administration has been looking at ways to boost revenue through outpatient clinics and services, including adding primary care capabilities outside the hospital walls and opening a “fast track” service to triage patients with minor ailments to allow them to be taken care of more quickly by dedicated nurses and staff. Many believe that the ultimate goal is to halt inpatient care entirely and continue as an urgent care center instead.



If inpatient services are reduced or eliminated, patients (some in crisis) will be forced to travel either an hour to Buffalo or an hour to Erie, PA on rural roads, often during long harsh winters.



In the meantime, while all this is in disarray, the hospital appears to be delaying productive bargaining and has put forth contract proposals that are unacceptable to the healthcare workers. Some of the proposals put forward by management would affect the very livelihoods of the workers. Furthermore, they would change some of the current staffing policies. If implemented, these proposals could have consequences for quality patient care, as well as the local economy.



Management’s proposals could endanger the ability of caregivers to do their job. Importantly, they violate unity among a community where everyone knows and cares about each other.