Posts tagged Rochester
Nurses walk off job at Henry Ford Rochester Hospital in labor dispute
June 10, 2025 // The hospital states that it staffs its hospitals based on patient volumes and other factors and that mandated staffing ratios hinder its ability to adapt to varying patient conditions. The two sides are also at odds over what the union claims is bad faith bargaining and alleges that they are being retaliated against.
United Auto Workers union to hold meeting in light of GM layoffs
May 29, 2025 // Meanwhile, GM is planning a massive expansion at its plant in Tonawanda, a suburb north of Buffalo, which is expected to be done in 2027. The Governor’s office says the $888 million investment will equip the plant to make V8 gas powered engines. It says 177 jobs at that plant were at risk before this investment. Employees who have been impacted by layoffs worked at the plant on Lexington Avenue producing parts for electric cars.
U Rochester Ph.D. Student Workers Strike for an Election Without the NLRB
April 27, 2025 // University of Rochester Ph.D. student workers began striking this week to pressure the institution to agree to what they call a “fair union election.” And for the process to be fair, they say, it can’t be handled by the Trump-era National Labor Relations Board. “We don’t see any kind of path through the NLRB at present,” said George Elkind, a Ph.D. student on the proposed UR Graduate Labor Union’s organizing committee.
UR graduate student workers hold informational picket ahead of strike
April 17, 2025 // If the university doesn’t agree to hold an election, union organizers would need to ask the National Labor Relations Board to organize one. Organizers say a Trump-era NLRB would be unlikely to grant an election agreement because, during President Trump’s first term, he sought to exclude student workers from unionizing. If Trump fills the three vacant positions on the five-member NLRB, it would have a conservative majority. The university says entering a private election agreement would be unprecedented for the campus. According to UR administration, all current unions on campus became official after asking the NLRB for an election, rather than asking the university directly.
Abundance Co-op suspends shareholder discount amid financial struggles and workers unionizing
April 10, 2025 // Shareholders usually enjoy shopping discounts, but the board of directors has put the program on hold due to financial troubles. They've offered no timeline for its return and have yet to find a suitable alternative. The statement read: "Please continue to shop at Abundance; it is single-handedly the most important decision you can make to help the store. Which leads to another important question people have asked — how bad is the financial status of Abundance? Will the store be shut down? We certainly hope not, and the goal is to avoid that, but we need to consult professionals to analyze what can be done to lessen our expenses in order to keep the store open." The statement also acknowledged the workers' decision to unionize, affirming that the co-op aims to support its staff and uphold fair and lawful election procedures.
UR home care workers are planning a one-day strike. Here’s why
February 24, 2025 // Last week, 1199SEIU issued a 10-day notice for an unfair labor practice strike on behalf of University of Rochester Medicine Home Care workers. A one-day strike is now planned. Since May 2024, professional and clinical home care workers have been negotiating their first union contract.
Negotiations underway between union, UR Medicine Home Care
May 10, 2024 // Professional and clinical home care workers at URMHC say they began talks Monday on their first labor contract as part of a union. They say 115 workers voted to unionize last year, joining the 1199 SEIU Healthcare Workers East
Democrat & Chronicle workers end strike without reaching contract deal with Gannett
April 26, 2024 // In a statement posted to X, a spokesperson for the Newspaper Guild of Rochester says they are going back to work Thursday morning despite not reaching a deal. According to the union, the two sides negotiated Wednesday and had a possible agreement, but the union claims Gannett had inserted language that changed the meaning of the contract. They say they’ve lost faith in Gannett’s willingness to bargain in good faith and plan to file complaints with the National Labor Relations Board.
Home Care Unionization Efforts Beginning To Tick Back Up
March 29, 2024 // Another issue that URMHC workers cited was working hours, which could – in theory – be fixed by providers. One of the biggest reasons for turnover in home-based care is volatile scheduling. “I think that’s a problem we’re going to have to solve,” FirstLight Home Care CEO Glee McAnanly told Home Health Care News earlier this year. “Because if you talk to caregivers, they say they want 30 hours. The average client is 20 hours, and so you’ve got a disconnected 10 hours. So, we talk about retention, but how are we going to [satisfy] that caregiver?”
Journalists turn to picket lines as the news business ails
February 16, 2024 // At the L.A. Times, where Schleuss got his start as a labor activist, owner Soon-Shiong made deep cuts last June and again last month, saying he is losing tens of millions of dollars a year on the paper. He says the union's refusal to give him greater leeway in making job cuts in January forced him to lay off more journalists. He had offered buyouts in exchange for relaxing protections by seniority. The union instead went out on strike.