(ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK) - seventy-five Professional and Technical Workers employed at Absolut Care at Orchard Park and Aurora Park have voted to Go Union and be represented by1199 Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Union Officials announced.

The new Union Workers are now looking forward to negotiating a contract where they’ll address pressing issues like frequent Staff turnover, stagnant wages and a fair workplace.  

They’ll join Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs), Dietary and Housekeeping Workers who were already Members of the Union at the two Erie County Nursing Homes in making their voices heard to enrich quality and continuity of care for their residents, as well as improving the quality of life for Workers and residents alike.

The Professional Caregivers, at two Absolut Care homes that are located within 10 miles of each other on the outskirts of Buffalo, cited high Staff turnover and a lack of respect from management as factors which prevented them from providing the best quality care that their resident’s deserve, Union Officials added.

“I voted to join the Union so that ‘we could strive together to win pay increases, improved health insurance and job security,’” said Ray McNamara, a Speech Therapist at Absolut Care in Aurora Park.  “We see our colleagues – ‘who are already part of the Union’ – ‘winning annual pay increases and we have been left behind, despite our professional training.’”

Michael Zent, a Physical Therapist at Absolut Care in Orchard Park, said: “We have a situation where as Salaried Employees ‘we have to work long hours without any further pay.’  ‘That’s why I joined a Union - to be able to negotiate a contract that sets out our conditions in writing.’ ‘At the moment we have people with the same job titles, who do the same work and receive different salaries.’”

The newest Members of 1199 SEIU include Occupational, Physical and Speech Therapists, Dieticians and Social Workers, as well as Physical and Occupational Therapist Assistants and a Sports Trainer.

1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East - the largest and fastest-growing Health Care Union in America, whose mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all - represents more than 400,000 Nurses and Caregivers throughout the States of Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Florida, and in Washington, D.C.