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Just under 200 nursing home workers at Weinberg Campus in Amherst are working without a contract while they weigh a job action should their fight for a multiyear contract stall.
Legislation’s progress so far It was during a mid-February press briefing that Gov. Andrew Cuomo first publicly voiced support of New York state deciding how much nursing homes can profit. “If you’re a for-profit nursing home, I believe it should be mandated how much you put back into the facility and how much profit you can make,” he said. Cuomo later included the proposed profit cap, also called a medical loss ratio, as an amendment to his 2021 budget proposal. It would mandate nursing homes put at least 70% of their revenue toward caring for residents. Both the st...
SHARE BUFFALO, N.Y. — Rather than focus on the controversy surrounding the Cuomo administration’s handling of nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, 1199 SEIU, which represents staff in the facilities, seized on the added spotlight to again push for reform. "I don't want to focus so much on the executive order like it had some big impact although, it may have, but really the issue is going forward is finding a solution," Administrative Organizer Marshall Bertram said. "How do we fix these nursing homes that were struggling before this?" The tactic, which included demonstrations and...
WBFO's Michael Mroziak reports. Governor Cuomo has already hinted at reforms he'd like to see at for-profit nursing homes in the next state budget. Marshall Bertram, administrative organizer for 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East detailed some of them while appearing at an informational picket at the Weinberg Campus in Amherst. Members of SEIU 1199 gather on the Weinberg Campus, holding one of several quiet pickets Thursday to call on statewide nursing home reforms. Credit Michael Mroziak, WBFO “There's a requirement that facilities spend a certain amount of the revenue on staffing a...