FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Friday, August 2, 2024

 

More than 300 nursing home workers at Weinberg Campus voted to ratify an 18-month agreement late yesterday calling off a planned strike, but union calls on highest paid non-profit leader in WNY
and all Board of Directors to be replaced

Getzville, NY – Nursing home workers at one of the last non-profit facilities in Western New York averted a two-day strike earlier this week and ratified an 18-month agreement with their employer yesterday. While caregivers at Weinberg Campus have a new labor deal, workers remain concerned about poorly managed facility and unpaid benefits.  Nursing home workers are represented by 1199SEIU, the largest healthcare workers union in the country. 

“I’m happy with the contract but I know that there is still work to be done,” said Nell Robinson, Licensed Practical Nurse. “This uphill battle is not quite over because we will back at the bargaining table again soon,” said Robinson.  

The 18-month agreement includes wage increases based on years of service, 10-step wage scale, pension increases, shift differential, and Martin Luther King Jr Day as a paid holiday.  Workers with less than 10 years of service will retroactive pay of 2.25% wage increase whereas workers with more than 10 years of service will receive a 2.75% wage increase retroactive to November 1, 2023. Beginning the first pay period following ratification, workers with less than 10 years of service will receive a raise on the wage scale while Nursing home workers with more than 10 years of service will receive a 3% wage increase.

New employees will be placed on the appropriate pay scale step according to their experience level right away.  This newly added contract benefit will recruit caregivers to help alleviate staffing issues at the Getzville facility.  In addition, Home Health Aides and Personal Care attendants will receive a shift differential when passing medications to residents.   

“This contract with Weinberg is only a small part of the changes needed to ensure long-term viability of the nursing home,” said Grace Bogdanove, 1199SEIU Vice-President for WNY Nursing Homes.  “In recent years, 1199SEIU has advocated for millions of dollars in state funding to ensure the future of this facility in our community. Now, we must continue to call on Weinberg Campus leadership to do right by the healthcare workers, residents, and the broader WNY community by stepping aside to allow Weinberg Campus to take a new direction forward and to restore its reputation as one of the best Senior Living communities in WNY,” said Bogdanove. 

1199SEIU has launched a public campaign demanding that the President and CEO Robert T. Mayer and Weinberg’s entire Board of Directors be replaced.  A public petition¹ has been circulating over the past several weeks gathering hundreds of signatures from community members and resident families. 

“I couldn’t even file for maternity leave and my baby is due in a week,” said Merisha Cothran, Certified Nurse Assistant. “This has never happened in the 10 years I’ve worked here. I don’t know what I’m going to do about my maternity leave,” said Cothran.

Over the last year, caregivers have fought hard to lobby state officials to secure millions in Vital Access Provider Funding² and significant increases to Medicaid Reimbursement³ rates for the struggling facility.  

Despite additional state funding, Weinberg Campus is behind on payments for employee benefits such as healthcare, pension, and other earned entitlements. Payments to vendors providing these benefits to workers are delinquent.   

Caregivers at Weinberg Campus are 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. 

The new 18-month agreement runs until April 30, 2025. 

On background:

CEO Bob Mayer is one of the highest paid leaders in Western New York. In 2022, Robert T. Mayer, President and CEO of Weinberg Campus earned more than $353,000 including salary, pension, and other benefits⁴ while some caregivers live paycheck to paycheck. 

As a non-profit, Weinberg Campus is led by a Board of Directors including: Board President Kenneth A. 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 2017.⁵ 

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1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America. We represent over 400,000 nurses and caregivers throughout Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Our mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all.
https://www.1199seiu.org

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¹ Weinberg Campus (weinbergleadersmustgonow.com)

² Vital Access Providers (ny.gov)

 

³ Tentative deal would raise Medicaid spending in New York (spectrumlocalnews.com)

⁴ Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, 2022 Form 990, Rosa Coplon Jewish Home and Infirmary, EIN # 16-0743145, at Schedule J, Part II, Officers, Directors, Trustees, Key Employees, and Highest Compensated Employees, last accessed on 7/22/24 and available online at:  https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/160743145/202430959349300033/full

⁵ How Weinberg Campus plans to remain a nonprofit senior care provider after terminated sale | WBFO