By Joyce Kryszak
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wbfo/local-wbfo-975424.mp3
Buffalo, NY – After nearly four months of negotiations, Kaleida and its unions have reached a tentative deal. Officials said the proposed contract provides stability for local healthcare.
An agreement was finally brokered in the wee hours Tuesday morning, well past the midnight deadline. The two-year contract still must be ratified by the unions which represent 8,000 Kaleida employees.
Kaleida President and Chief Executive Officer James Kaskie said both sides recognized the need for an agreement that would acknowledge the uncertain future of healthcare.
"The way healthcare is going to be in two years was one of the major issues at the table that we were talking through. And what I mean by that is the uncertainty of the healthcare environment, all the changes, both regulatory, changes in the economy, changes in the way healthcare is delivered. All those various forces are acting upon us," said Kaskie.
The ratification vote is not expected to come until sometime in mid-July. Jim Scordato is Vice President of Local 1199 of the SCIU. He believes union members from all three unions will ratify the deal. But he says it will take some time.
"The contract is probably a 164 page contract that we have now, and probably 95% of it has been altered or changed," said Scordato. "So, it's not like in a normal bargaining years where you make some changes to a few articles. This is a revamped contract we think our members are going to be happy with."
Further details will not likely be revealed until the deal is ratified. But CWA Local 1168 president John Klein said the unions did win some wage increases.
The unions had been set to take a strike authorization vote Tuesday if the sides had failed to reach agreement. Klein said, despite the economic realities of the times, unions do still have power.
"You know, we're still strong and we know what we have to do to get the job done. Union members rallied to gain public support. The previous contract expired on May 31st, but the sides had been in negotiations for four months. And working together is a key point of that," said Kline. "We are stronger together and I think we made that clear through this process."
The previous contract expired May 31. There were two extensions.