Brian Mazurowski | WBEN

Announcement came just hours before a planned picket by employees

Buffalo, NY (WBEN) - Kaleida Health has announced that it has reached a labor agreement with unions representing 7,200 employees.

The announcement came just hours before a planned picket by employees.

In a release on Wednesday morning, Kaleida said that the agreement calls for additional staffing commitments from the company, and will see employees benefit financially.

"Everything that we discussed during negotiations... is designed to improve the quality of care that we provide to our community," said Kaleida President and CEO Jody Lomeo in a statement. "The new agreement invests in our workforce in a number of areas."

The agreement covers workers from the Communications Workers of America/AFL-CIO (CWA1168), International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE 17) and 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East.

Details of the contract have not been disclosed, as it must first be ratified by union membership.