Contract expires for union workers at URMC

Contract expires for union workers at URMC; negotiations continue

By Spectrum News Staff and Keegan Trunick Rochester

UPDATED 1:13 PM ET Oct. 31, 2023 PUBLISHED 1:30 PM ET Oct. 30, 2023 PUBLISHED 1:30 PM EDT Oct. 30, 2023

Negotiations are continuing after the union contract for workers at the University of Rochester Medical Center and Strong Memorial Hospital expired.

The collective bargaining agreement, which covers more than 1,800 union caregivers and service workers, expired Monday at midnight after the two sides failed to reach an agreement. The union employees include nursing assistants and patient care technicians as well as food service workers, truck drivers and many more.

“It’s heartbreaking that we were unable to reach a fair agreement with URMC today,” said Tina Hawkins, sterile processing technician at URMC’s Strong Memorial Hospital. “I know we aren’t a minimum wage hospital, but it feels like the direction we are going in. Our committee is extremely disappointed because we hoped that URMC would have at least offered a fair agreement that we could take back to our members, but it feels like they failed us at the bargaining table."

According to union officials, the employees earn considerably less than the livable wage in Monroe County, which is just over $19 an hour.

The two unions representing the workers say last month, 98.5% of voting members authorized the bargaining committee to issue a 10-day notice for an informational picket after multiple contract extensions. The extensions, the unions say, came after months of negotiations that included 22 bargaining sessions between United Healthcare Workers East, 200United SEIU and URMC.

The University of Rochester issued the following statement on Tuesday:

"What's next for URMC and the University of Rochester broadly is that we are continuing with good-faith negotiations to achieve a multi-year contract renewal that is fair, competitive and equitable. The University has been negotiating in good faith since late August with representatives from 1199SEIU and 200United SEIU, and we are committed to treating each and every employee fairly — those who are represented by a union and those who are not. We work hard to ensure that our compensation, benefits, and policies are equitable and competitive, which is a priority for attracting and retaining employees."

URMC is Rochester's largest employer.

The labor dispute at URMC comes just as nurses at Rochester General Hospital, which is run by Rochester Regional Health, have ratified a new 42-month agreement and avoided a second strike over wages and staffing.