(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) – The contract covering 8,000 Union-Represented Kaleida Health System Workers in Buffalo has expired without a resolution as bargaining broke down Friday (June 21st) with more than 30 open issues still remaining to be resolved.

Representatives from Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1168, 1199 Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 17 say Staffing, Safe Patient Care, Working Conditions and a number of Economic Issues remain unresolved despite 50 bargaining sessions.

Both sides announced Saturday (June 22nd) that talks are scheduled to resume on July 1st.

The contract that covers Kaleida Health’s Union-represented Employees expired at midnight on Friday (June 21st).  Until a new agreement is reached, both sides are operating under terms of the old agreement.

“Staffing, Safe Patient Care, Working Conditions and Economic Issues remain unresolved despite fifty bargaining sessions,” CWA Local 1168 President Cori Gambini said in a released statement.  “Management’s focus on cost savings has derailed attention to the core issues our Members expect to be addressed.   High quality care to members of our community is our number one priority.”

1199 SEIU President Jim Scordato said, in a released statement: “Our Members have spoken!  Over (500) people attended a Membership meeting in our bargaining room this past Wednesday (pictured above) and voiced their concerns: Safe Staffing, no concessions and the ability to care for ourselves and our families are high priorities in any settlement.”

Although the three involved Unions said they were willing to resume talks this week, they added representatives for Kaleida Health were not. 

At that time, representatives for the three Unions said they “are committed to getting back to the bargaining table in an effort to resolve the remaining issues and reach a new agreement.” 

Representatives from the three Unions also announced that they plan to hold a press conference in the coming days to discuss their next steps.

Meanwhile, Kaleida Health released the following statement that read, in part: Over the course of the past four months we have bargained in good faith, addressing numerous issues that are important to the unions. Our current proposal represents a $50 million-plus investment into our greatest asset, our workforce.  This investment, which includes additional staffing, improves quality of care while at the same time financially rewards our employees.  It is fiscally responsible and works within our economic framework.  That is extremely important if the organization is going to continue to evolve and be in a position to serve our community in the future.   Kaleida Health’s success over the past five years has been a function of a productive partnership with Labor, dedicated to improving the quality of care and the financial health of our system.  The goal here has been, and will continue to be, to achieve a fair agreement while responsibly investing in our workforce.  We look forward to resuming contract negotiations on July 1st.