Buffalo, NY – On July 2nd, workers at two Western New York nursing homes reached a Tentative 1-Year Agreement with their employer, but less than one week later the for-profit out of town nursing home owner, Solomon Abramczyk failed to sign the agreement over paying better wages to recruit experienced caregivers. Nursing home workers are represented by 1199SEIU, the largest healthcare workers union in the country.

“The owners agreed to our proposal after many
weeks of negotiations and then when it came to
signing it – they refused to pay agreed upon experience pay,” said Penny Burdick, Activities Aide at Williamsville Suburban Care Center. “We need to keep and recruit experienced staff and will strike over this,” said Burdick.

The labor deal covering about 170 workers at the care homes in Tonawanda and Amherst expired April 30, 2024. Caregivers had been in negotiations for several months trying to reach a one-year deal for a new contract.

1199SEIU filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board on July 8th alleging the for-profit employer was bargaining in bad faith when they failed to sign off on the deal they agreed to during contract talks.

After workers did not receive the signed deal, they decided to let their employer know just how disappointed they were by holding a strike authorization vote. This month, workers at the two suburban nursing homes voted in favor of holding a one-day strike.

1199SEIU sent a 10-day notice to the employer last week notifying them of the 24-hour Unfair Labor Practice Strike set to happen on Wednesday, August 28, 2024. Workers will participate in the strike from 6 AM – 6 PM, not returning to work until 5:59 AM the following day.

“In the agreement, the employer agreed to the entire proposed package during negotiations on July 2nd and now the employer has failed to sign the agreement due to experience based pay,” said Emmanuel White, 1199SEIU Organizer and lead negotiator. “We want to make sure that both facilities can recruit and retain experienced workers to care for residents – and to do so they must offer competitive wages based on experience. The employer reached out to have a conversation on Monday, August 26th, so we remain hopeful that we can settle this dispute,” said White.

About 70 Nursing home workers at Safire Rehabilitations of Northtowns in Tonawanda represented by 1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East work as Certified Nurse Assistants, Licensed Practical Nurses, and Unit Clerks.

More than 100 workers at Williamsville Suburban Care Center work as Activities Aides, Certified Nurse Assistants, Licensed Practical Nurses, Physical Therapy Aides, Unit Secretaries, and Maintenance Assistants.

According to the New York State Department of Health, Safire Care of Northtowns and Williamsville Suburban have common owners, which is often the case when owners participate in related party transactions. Safire Care of Northtowns is owned and operated by Judy Landa, Richard Platschek, Solomon Abramczyk, Robert Schuck, and Moshe Steinberg¹. Williamsville Suburban Care Center owners are Richard Platschek and Solomon Abramczyk.²

More than 72% of for-profit nursing homes in New York state participate in related party transactions including Solomon Abramcyzk.³ Related party transactions often include paying companies they have an ownership interest in for services provided at a facility they already own or operate – essentially, a way to redirect more profits to owners.⁴

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1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in New York and nationwide. We represent over 450,000 members throughout New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Florida, and Washington, D.C.  Our mission is to achieve quality care and good jobs for all.
www.1199seiu.org

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¹ NYS Health Profile: Safire Rehabilitation of Northtowns, LLC
² NYS Health Profile: Williamsville Suburban LLC
³ Nursing homes will soon have to report deals with 'non-arms length' companies (buffalonews.com)
⁴ Nursing homes will soon have to report deals with 'non-arms length' companies (buffalonews.com)