Healthcare workers win contract agreement with League of Voluntary Hospitals

PORT JERVIS – Employees who are members of 1199SEIU Healthcare Workers have an agreement with the League of Voluntary Hospitals for a three-year contract that will take effect on October 1, 2018. Union rank-and-file will now vote on the proposed pact.
The hospital league represents health care professionals at Bon Secours Community Hospital in Port Jervis, Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, New York Medical College in Valhalla and Ferncliff Nursing Home in Rhinebeck in addition to hospitals in the New York metropolitan area.
James Wendt, a nuclear x-ray tech at Bon Secours in Port Jervis, termed the pact “a great contract” for the employees.
“We did get wage increases, which is nice, we secured a health care and pension plan among other things,” Wendt said. “Really important to us was the growth of the union and we facilitated that through this contract also.”
The agreement includes wage increases of three percent each year. Healthcare coverage will continue with no out-of-pocket expenses.

Hank Gross

Hank Gross is the founder of Mid-Hudson News and a veteran journalist with over five decades of experience covering the Hudson Valley. A graduate of SUNY Oneonta, where he began his career in broadcasting, Hank has worked across radio, TV, and print media since 1970. His work has earned him numerous accolades, including an Associated Press “Best Newscast” award and recognition as a “Pillar of the Community” by the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center. He lives in Middletown with his wife, Virginia.