(GETZVILLE, NEW YORK) - More than 300 1199 Service Employees International Union (SEIU)-represented Weinberg Campus Nursing Home Workers in Suburban Buffalo are set to hold an informational picket on Wednesday (October 9th) over a lack of retroactive pay, unpaid benefits and poor leadership at the non-profit facility in Getzville.

The Nursing Home Workers at one of the last non-profit facilities in Western New York averted a two-day Strike earlier this year.  An 18-month agreement signed just months ago included wage increases based on years of service, a 10-step wage scale, pension increases, shift differentials and Martin Luther King Jr Day as a paid holiday.

Caregivers at Weinberg Campus are employed as Food Service Workers, Maintenance Workers, Cooks, Environmental Service Workers, Housekeeping, Certified Nurse Assistants, Licensed Practical Nurses, Personal Care Aides, Clerical Workers, Home Health Aides and Community Home Health Aides.

Workers say they have not received any of the wage increases or retroactive pay owed to them and held an impromptu march on President & CEO Robert Mayer’s Office last week when their paychecks didn’t reflect the wage increase, 1199 SEIU Officials said.

Retroactive increases ranged from 2.25% to 2.75% based on years of experience dating back to November 1st, 2023. 

Caregivers have now filed a class action grievance against Weinberg Campus. 

“We have worked in difficult conditions.  We put in time and effort to help the facility maintain quality care for residents.  It’s only right to pay the workers what they are owed for the time they worked,” said Crystallynn Lewis-Bryant, a Licensed Practical Nurse.

1199 SEIU launched a public campaign during the Summer demanding Mayer and Weinberg’s entire Board of Directors be replaced. 

A public petition has been circulating, gathering hundreds of signatures from community members and resident families.

Over the last year, the Unionized Caregivers have also lobbied State Officials to secure millions of dollars in Vital Access Provider Funding and significant increases to Medicaid Reimbursement rates for the struggling non-profit facility. 
Despite additional State funding, Weinberg Campus is behind on payments for Employee benefits - such as health care, pension, and other earned entitlements, 1199 SEIU said.

Payments to vendors providing these benefits to workers are delinquent.  

Mayer is one of the highest paid leaders in Western New York.

In 2022, he received more than $353,000 - which included salary, pension and other benefits, while some Caregivers live paycheck to paycheck, Union Officials said.

As a non-profit, Weinberg Campus is led by a Board of Directors - including Board President Kenneth Rogers, Lawrence Cohen, John Craik, Ryan Gellman, Robert Mayer, Monica Neuwirt, and Orrin Tobbe.

This is the same Board of Directors that decided to put a halt to a potential sale to a for-profit ownership group back in 2017, the Union said.