(EAST AURORA, NEW YORK) - More than 25 1199 Service Employees International Union (SEIU)-represented Professional and Technical Nursing Home Workers employed at Absolut Care of Aurora Park and Absolut Care of Allegany will hold an informational picket on Wednesday (June 7th) in East Aurora if Workers cannot reach a fair contract agreement.

The Caregivers, whose two-year contract expired on April 30th (2023), at Absolut Care of Aurora Park and Absolut Care of Allegany (dba as RCA Servicer at Aurora Park, LLC & RCA Servicer at Allegany, LLC) have been bargaining for a new deal for several months, but without much progress, Union Officials said. 

Professional and Technical Union Nursing Home Workers at Absolut Care of Aurora Park and Absolut Care of Allegany work as full and part time Occupational Therapists, Speech/Language Pathologists, Physical Therapists, Dieticians, Social Workers, Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants (COTA), and Sports Trainers.

1199 SEIU and management are scheduled to return to the bargaining table today (Friday, June 2nd). 

Union Workers are demanding a competitive contract with fair wages and longevity pay to retain Staff, but also to help recruit new Workers. 

The employer’s current proposals to cut paid time off, health insurance benefits and other benefits for newly hired Workers would make it extremely difficult to recruit Professional and Technical Workers for any open vacancies, leaving current Workers to pick up additional work to care for residents, 1199 SEIU Reps said.

Those Professional and Technical Nursing Home Workers say protecting their hard-earned benefits will be key to a fair contract.

Occupational Therapist Joshua Previte said: “We want respect in the form of recognition of everything we do.  We deserve better pay to compete with other facilities and so that new Workers will want to come here and the current Workers will want to say.  We are fighting for better benefits for new hires as management currently wants to reduce what they would offer.”

Absolut Care of Aurora Park and Absolut Care of Allegany are currently undergoing a change in ownership through New York State Department of Health. 

The for-profit residential health care facilities will be owned by Orly Lieberman, Michael Farbenblum, Menachem Tauber and Mordechai Mendlowitz once the application for the change is approved by New York State Department of Health.

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