FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact: Mindy Berman, 518.229.0486

WHAT: INFORMATIONAL PICKETING
WHEN: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20
Two shifts: 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.-5 p.m
WHERE: NUVANCE/VASSAR BROTHERS MEDICAL CENTER
45 READE PL, POUGHKEEPSIE
NUVANCE/PUTNAM HOSPITAL
670 STONELEIGH AVENUE, CARMEL

WHO: 1199SEIU HOSPITALS WORKERS, LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS, COMMUNITY LEADERS, CONCERNED COMMUNITY IN-PERSON INTERVIEWS AND PHOTO OPS AVAILABLE DURING THE PICKETS & PHONE/ZOOM INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE ANY TIME BETWEEN 11 a.m. & 5 p.m.

BACKGROUND:

• Nuvance’s Hudson Valley facilities are extraordinarily short-staffed. There are long waits to get care in the emergency departments, and throughout the hospitals and labs. Staff works around the clock. As a result of the fatigue and stress, qualified healthcare workers leave their jobs, exacerbating the situation.

• In contract negotiations over the last few months, Nuvance has had the opportunity to work with 1199SEIU to resolve this problem. But instead, they have been throwing wrenches into the bargaining process, making proposals they know are unacceptable, thereby stalling a settlement.

• 1199 members don’t only “work” at Nuvance facilities. They live in the communities that are served by these healthcare institutions—it’s where they turn when their families need care. They are angry that not only is Nuvance, their out-of-town corporate employer, doing everything possible to make it difficult to settle their contract, but they also could be putting at risk the health care of their communities.

1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in America. We represent over 450,000 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. For more information: http://www.1199seiu.org/