The current three-year labor contract for 450 health care workers at Corning Hospital expires on April 30.
Workers are fighting for more staff, competitive wages and quality affordable health insurance coverage. Hospital workers are represented by the 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East.
Contract negotiations have been dragging since talks began in March, according to Kathy Ville, the union's chief contract negotiator.
“Management's rejected a lot of our proposals,” said Ville. “We've made proposals mainly regarding short staffing and trying to improve staffing levels. Trying to make them competitive with area facilities with what they're offering, so that they're not leading their staff to other facilities in the area.”
Last week union members at Corning Hospital overwhelmingly voted to authorize an informational picket in order to raise community awareness about the dispute with their employer.
It is not a work stoppage. Members can picket outside the facility during breaks and before and after work hours.
However, union representatives said they are still negotiating and will not picket unless talks become stagnant.
Corning Hospital is the only unionized facility in the Guthrie system.
Peggy Clarkson works in the emergency room and is the union chair. She said competitive wages are necessary to recruit and retain staff.
“It’s been a struggle, especially since COVID, and it's been the same story for everywhere else,” said Clarkson. “It's hard to keep people here, and it is because the younger folks are constantly looking to see where they're going to be making more money, or the fact that we're a rural community and they're young, and they want to look for where there's more things to do in the community.”
Clarkson started with Corning Hospital in 1972. She has been involved with union contract negotiations since workers unionized in 1996.
Guthrie sent WSKG the following statement in an email: “Guthrie values and appreciates the dedication and hard work of all our caregivers, including those represented by SEIU. Our shared goal is to create a work environment that is fair, respectful and supportive.
We are currently in active and constructive discussions with union leadership and remain hopeful that we can reach a mutually beneficial agreement. We are confident that with continued dialogue, we will find common ground.
Throughout this process, we are committed to ensuring the continuity of care for our patients and the support of all our staff.”
Union representatives are hoping to finalize a new three-year contract before the current contract ends Wednesday.
Ville said there are three back-to-back negotiation sessions scheduled to begin Monday with a federal mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) agency. The mediator will join remotely instead of onsite due to cutbacks at the agency.
In March, the FMCS was marked by the Elon Musk Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in an Executive Order by the Trump administration for elimination to the “maximum extent consistent with applicable law” by reducing its functions and personnel.
According to the agency’s website, the FMCS was created nearly 80 years ago and is an “independent federal agency that plays a crucial role in sustaining the American economy by preventing, minimizing, and resolving work stoppages and labor disputes.” It works with employers and unions in the public and private sectors.
The 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East is made up of 400,000 nurses and caregivers across Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Florida, and Washington, D.C.
Workers who are represented by the union at Corning Hospital include housekeeping aids, dietary aids, maintenance workers, case managers, x-ray technicians, respiratory therapists and nurses.