Rochester health care workers seek new contract

Rochester, New York — Following the expiration of union contracts at Strong Memorial Hospital and the University of Rochester Campus, Rochester health care workers are heading back to the bargaining table.

In order to issue their employers a ten-day notice of job action, on Thursday hospital and campus workers voted to authorize their bargaining committees.

The workers, represented by 11-99 SEIU and SEIU Local 200 United, are back to negotiating with management. They are calling for fair living wages,
affordable health insurance and better staffing at the hospital.

“We’re frustrated, we’re tired, a lot of us worked through the pandemic with no days off,” Transportation Assistant Kellie Miller said. “We just want a fair contract. We’re trying to settle this as soon as possible. Our workers want a fair contract. We want to maintain our health care, so that’s what we’re really interested in today.”

1199-SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is the largest healthcare union in the country with more than 400,000 nurses and caregivers.