FEDERAL MEDIATOR JOINS UR UNION NEGOTIATIONS - CONTRACTS COVERING 1400 SERVICE WORKERS EXPIRE SATURDAY
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers
East
Upstate New York Division
Service
Employees International Union
225 West Broad
Street, Suite B
Rochester, New
York 14608
Telephone:
(585)-244-0830
Fax:
(585)-244-0956
Website:
www.1199seiu.org
MEDIA RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 26,
2007
FEDERAL MEDIATOR JOINS
UR UNION NEGOTIATIONS
CONTRACTS COVERING
1400 SERVICE WORKERS EXPIRE
SATURDAY
(Rochester) - A Federal
Mediator has joined talks between
service
workers and management at the
University of Rochester (UR) and its
Strong
Memorial Hospital division.
With
union contracts covering over 1400
service
workers at UR set to expire at
midnight Saturday, negotiations have
been
scheduled daily into the
weekend.
A
host of issues are still unresolved. They
include
health
benefits, pay rates, educational and
training opportunities, child
care
support, and unorganized workers'
rights to join the union.
Workers and UR students last week
donned stickers saying "Respect
Worker
Free Choice" in support of the Union's demand
that UR stop
interfering with
non-union employees' efforts to join its
ranks. Union
members want UR to
comply with provisions of the Federal Employee
Free
Choice Act passed earlier
this year by the U.S. House of
Representatives,
and cosponsored by
Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, and Senators
Hillary
Clinton and Charles
Schumer. The Act would streamline current
procedures
for union recognition
and allow workers to exercise their choice
without
coercion by management
officials.
UR employees involved in the talks include
patient
care
technicians, nursing unit secretaries,
surgical assistants,
environmental
and facilities maintenance
employees, dietary, transportation,
and
materials processing staff.
They are members of SEIU Local
200United
and 1199 SEIU United Healthcare
Workers East.
For
further information, please contact Bruce
Popper at
(585)-244-0830 x316.