Upstate Members Strike Deal

More than a year of bargaining with the University of Rochester, ends with a strong contract, following 11th hour agreement to avert strike action.

Professional and Clinical members at the University of Rochester Medicine Home Care (URMHC) reached a tentative agreement for a three-year contract on May 13. Following lengthy and contentious negotiations, 1199 caregivers held their ground to protect quality care for their patients across seven rural Upstate counties. A planned five-day strike was called off following the agreement.

Homecare workers were demanding reasonable patient caseloads and affordable health insurance coverage.

“We are very pleased that we have come to an agreement with UR Medicine Homecare. It has been a long time coming and we are happy that it has finally come to a good conclusion for both workers and our patients,” said Jane Vanderwall, Physical Therapist.

The URMHC members provide professional home care services for pediatric and adult patients in Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne, Wyoming, and Yates counties. These Professional Home Care workers are Registered Nurses, Child Life Specialists, Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants, Dietitians, Licensed Practical Nurses, Medical Social Workers, Occupational Therapists, Pediatric Registered Nurses, Physical Therapists, Physical Therapy Assistants, and Speech Language Pathologists.

Professional and clinical home care workers from URMHC are the first and unique type of job category. Caregivers assist patients with the transition back into their homes and provide critical nursing care, physical, occupational and speech therapy, as well as medical and social work services.

The URMHC is an affiliate of the largest private sector employer in Upstate New York, according to IRS tax filings.

In January, 1199SEIU filed an unfair labor practice charge against URMHC alleging they bargained in bad faith when they failed to return a counter proposal on outstanding economic issues with a Federal Mediator from Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) present at talks.

The following month, homecare workers held an informational picket and one-day strike outside of URMHC offices in Webster to bring their dispute with the employer to the public. The 1-day unfair labor practice strike was held as efforts to reach a full agreement continued to stall over key economic issues.

Non-economic items and nearly half of the economic items remained unsettled for months. Up until the settlement, there were still major outstanding economic issues on the table including: affordable health insurance coverage for workers, reasonable patient caseloads, wages, and more. URMHC currently has 26 job openings and has asked workers to cover additional shifts to care for patients.

Homecare workers said that patient caseloads were unreasonable. But University of Rochester Medicine Home Care disagreed, saying that the caseloads were manageable. High caseloads were cited by workers who left the home care agency as their reason for leaving.

According to 2022 IRS Tax Filings, several companies tied to URMHC earned millions in profits, and URMHC has both a $2.3 million dollar endowment and a $2.6 million dollar expansion fund.

Since the massive one-day strike held by bedside caregivers and service workers at University of Rochester Medical Center last year, more and more workers in Rochester are voting to join a union and secure a contract.

Earlier this year, University of Rochester Graduate Students also began forming a union to fight for living wages. Graduate workers held a massive picket earlier this year demand that UR President Sarah Mangelsdorf make good on a promise to sign documents allowing their union election to move forward.