(NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK) – More than 70 1199 Service Employees International Union (SEIU) United Healthcare Workers East-represented Nursing Home Workers employed at the Schoellkopf Health Center in Niagara Falls have reached a new one-year, tentative contract agreement.

The Schoellkopf Health Center is attached to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center.  

1199 SEIU represents Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), Certified Nurse Assistants (CNAs), Unit Clerks and Laundry Aides at the facility. 

The agreement includes Juneteenth and Labor Day as paid holidays and a new 10-step wage scale with additional longevity increases for Employees with up to 25 years of service, Union Officials said. 

In addition, the agreement includes: An average 11% wage increase - retroactive to May 1st with some Workers receiving up to 34%; Increased pension contributions of $1.10 per hour; Increases to shift differential; Increases to the employer’s contribution on dental and optical plans; and Increases to LPN charge pay - and a new $3.00 differential for LPN’s who take on additional responsibilities in the event of short staffing. 

LPN Earl Pugh said: "I am very pleased with the results and mutual respect with hard work that it took to make this contract one of the best ever.  We worked to combine our Bargaining Units into one agreement.  This was a collective effort.  Congratulations to our team and to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center for leading the way to show they value Employees at Schoellkopf.”

Grace Bogdanove, who serves as 1199 SEIU Vice-President for WNY Nursing Homes: said: “We are thrilled to have reached this tentative agreement at Schoellkopf.  Management came to the table earnestly and collaboratively to ensure that recruitment and retention were a collective priority.  It is incredibly disappointing that our negotiations with Absolut Care are in stark contrast to Schoellkopf’s approach, which put Workers and quality resident care first.  Absolut Care management has approached negotiations with a focus on keeping their facilities some of the lowest paid in the area and putting profit over Workers, with millions of dollars spent on related party transactions rather than investing in the Health Care Workers who provide care to some of the most vulnerable members of our rural communities.”

The new agreement in Niagara Falls, which Workers at Schoellkopf will vote on soon, comes on the heels of four Strikes set to begin at Absolut Care nursing homes in Allegany, Aurora Park, Westfield, and Orchard Park on Thursday (June 13th).

While negotiations are set to resume ahead of the Strikes, 1199 SEIU filed three Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) Charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on behalf of the Workers employed at the four Absolut Care homes. 

1199 SEIU alleges Absolut Care is bargaining in bad faith when the employer unilaterally implemented their last best and final offer leaving Workers below the area standard of wages and benefits of other Nursing Home Workers across Western New York.

1199 SEIU alleges Absolut Care refuses to fill vacant Bargaining Unit positions - eroding the Union positions and threatening Workers who plan to participate in the Strike.

Both sides were set to return to the bargaining table.

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 Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Florida, as well as in Washington, D.C.