Members of the union 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East staged a one-day strike on August 12 against Rockland Pulmonary, part of the WMCHealth Network. The strikers gathered a short distance from the building at 2 Crossfield Ave. in West Nyack, one of the locations where Rockland Pulmonary has a facility.
The union said its workers at Rockland Pulmonary have been in negotiations with WMCHealth management for eight months in an effort to achieve their first contract and charged that they have faced intimidation and delay tactics from management.
The workers were demanding what they view as fair pay, better benefits and an end to what they say is worker intimidation. In alleging that management violated federal labor law, union officer Angela Lane charged that it unilaterally changed job descriptions, threatened to close offices if employees elected union representation and told some employees to quit if they didn’t like the rules.
WMCHealth told the Business Journal, “WMCHealth has bargained in good faith with 1199SEIU – offering a new contract that would increase salaries, preserve benefits for our frontline caregivers who are part of our incredible teams that provide patients at Rockland Pulmonary & Medical Associates the very best medical care. We have contingency plans in place to ensure this one-day strike will not interrupt or interfere with our doctors, nurses, and other care team providers delivering the highest standard of care, and we hope the union leadership will meet with us to reach a fair, sustainable agreement.”
Last year, the National Labor Relations Board certified an election in which workers at Rockland Pulmonary voted to be represented by 1199SEIU. The election covered full-time and regular part-time workers, some per diem workers, and non-professional employees jointly employed by Rockland Pulmonary and Medical Associates and Bon Secours Charity Health System Medical Group P.C. at their health care centers in West Nyack, Suffern, Orangeburg, and Stony Point. Not covered by the union are professional employees, confidential employees, guards, managerial and supervisory employees.
