Workers strike at Williamsville nursing home over pay, staffing

May 17—More than 30 union workers at a Williamsville nursing home participated in a one-day strike Wednesday, seeking to gain community support in their ongoing efforts to negotiate a new contract that raises wages, boosts staffing and improves working conditions.

The union workers at at Williamsville, represented by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, have been working without a contract since Dec. 31 when their three-year deal expired.

Progress on a new agreement has been slow and the nursing home owner has proposed only small increases to wages, according to Xavier Eddy, an administrative organizer with 1199SEIU, who said about 45% of the facility's workers make less than $15 an hour.

In a statement, Comprehensive Rehabilitation management said they were disappointed the union decided to strike Wednesday, despite the "significant wage increases and other enhanced benefits we have put on the table."

"We have a long tradition of supporting and rewarding the hard work of our dedicated staff, and we remain committed to increasing wages in an effort to attract and retain the talent to provide care to our residents," read the statement, which also noted the ongoing financial challenges in the nursing home industry.

The nursing home's ownership details have been a prominent part of the union's public campaign.

The union points out the 142-bed Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Nursing Center shares some common ownership with The Villages of Orleans Health and Rehabilitation Center in the Town of Albion. State Attorney General Letitia James late last year sued the ownership group behind The Villages, accusing the for-profit operators of enriching themselves through related-party transactions while resident care suffered.

On a giant inflatable boss at the strike Wednesday, the union listed the owners of Comprehensive Rehabilitation: Ephram Lahasky; David Gast; Joshua Farkovits; Samuel Halper; Debbie Korngut; Teresa Lichtschtein; and Jeffrey Arem.

All of those individuals, except Arem, are named as defendants in the state's lawsuit against The Villages.

The Villages and Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Nursing Center have one-star overall ratings, or much below average, from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Longtime workers of Comprehensive Rehabilitation on Wednesday described the ownership group as absent. Meanwhile, the building condition has continued to deteriorate and more staff has left, making the facility more reliant on higher-cost agency workers, said Carolyn Parmer, a certified nursing assistant who has worked at the facility for 18 years.

She said the facility has been in a state of decline since Catholic Health System sold the nursing home, previously called St. Francis of Williamsville, in 2015 to the current owners, Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services.

Now, she is hoping for a new contract that could improve conditions at the facility.

"If they brought more help in and hired and raised our wages, I think it would be a much better place," said Parmer, who makes $18.84 an hour.

The union employees return to work at 7 a.m. Thursday. The next bargaining session is scheduled for June.

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