Amherst, Tonawanda nursing home workers may strike soon if deal not reached

(WIVB) — Approximately 170 union workers at two Western New York nursing homes are threatening to hit the picket line next week if they cannot reach a contract agreement. They say negotiations between 1199SEIU and the nursing home owners continue to fall flat.

Caregivers have been negotiating for months to try to reach a one-year deal for a new contract.

On July 2, the workers, Williamsville Suburban and Safire of Northtowns reached a tentative agreement, but less than a week later, the nursing home owner, Solomon Abramczyk, failed to sign off on the deal.

Emmanuel White, the lead negotiator representing the healthcare workers union, said the employer failed to sign the agreement due to the “experience-based pay” factor. He said this is important because both facilities need to be able to recruit and retain experienced workers to care for residents.

“Oftentimes at these facilities, direct bedside caregivers may not be able to follow the care plan as it is written to provide quality care,” White said. “That’s due directly to their situation with staff and things like that.”

White said because of this, the union filed an unfair labor practice charge against the owner of Williamsville Suburban and Safire of Northtowns.

“The owner is refusing to sign the agreement because of a small piece of the proposal regarding experience-based pay for current employees and new hires,” he said.

Michael Balboni, a spokesperson for Safire Care, which employs the caregivers in Tonawanda, said the union tried to throw that provision in the agreement at the last minute, which is what led to the issues.

“I don’t negotiate that way. You’ve got to have good faith in negotiations,” Balboni said. “We’re kind of stuck in a provision that we didn’t agree to, we never did.”

Balboni also told WIVB News 4 this part of the contract is a small element of a much bigger picture. He said the rest of the agreement that includes more important factors, such as pay increases, has already been approved on both ends.

“At the end of the day, what the membership of the union really cares about, I believe, is the six percent wage increases and the other benefits in this contract that quite frankly, they deserve,” Balboni said.

The employer reached out to the union to have a conversation on the agreement on Aug. 26. Both sides remain hopeful they can settle the dispute.

“We have an agreement,” Balboni said. “We just need to come and talk a little bit about it. It shouldn’t take very long. Sign it and go on.”

If a deal is not met, the labor practice strike is set to occur on Wednesday, Aug. 28. Workers will participate in the strike from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will not return to work until 5:59 a.m. the following day.

Trina Catterson joined the News 4 team in 2024. She previously worked at WETM-TV in Elmira, a sister station of WIVB. See more of her work here .