Health Care Workers Rally for Fair Contract at Mercy Hospital

CWA-represented nurses and other health care workers held a huge rally and informational picket line outside Mercy Hospital in South Buffalo, N.Y., following an overwhelming vote by members to authorize a strike if a fair contract isn't reached.

Members of CWA Local 1133 voted by a 97 percent margin to authorize a strike, a message to Catholic Health System that "enough is enough," said Local President Peggy Chadwick-Ledwon.  CWA represents 2,000 employees at the hospital.

Chadwick-Ledwon said one critical issue is hospital staffing and the high number of vacancies which force nurses to do the work of two people and skip breaks and lunches to provide proper patient care. Under the hospital's current staffing levels, "nurses are tired and there is nobody to relieve them. It's hard getting a call on your day off to come in because the hospital is again short-staffed, and you know your co-workers are killing themselves," she said. We need to have a competitive wage and benefit package so we can fill vacancies, especially for night shift nurses, she added.

Other key issues are benefit differentials for part-time workers, who more often than not are required to work full-time hours, wages and health care, said Chadwick-Ledwon. "We don't want to go out on strike. We just want a fair contract. Unfortunately, this is the third contact where we've had to take a strike vote" to show management that workers are serious about fairness, she said.

Hundreds of CWA nurses and health care workers rallied outside the hospital, joined by CWA District 1 Vice President Chris Shelton and other supporters. Negotiations will resume on June 13; the contract expired June 3.