Negotiations for UR Medicine Home Care workers continue into ninth month

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The negotiations between management and workers at University of Rochester Medicine Home Care are continuing into their ninth month.

The union 1199SEIU, which represents UR Home Care’s professional and clinical workers, has been working to reach a contract since May. The union says there are still 16 economic issues on the table, including patient caseload and affordable health insurance.

In a new release, the union said high patient caseloads are a major reason why workers leave the home care industry. It reads in part:

“University of Rochester Medicine Home Care prides itself on providing manageable caseloads to ensure quality care yet remain at odds with homecare workers who say otherwise and do not have leaders at the table who understand needs of healthcare workers.”

A statement from UR Medicine Home Care said its leaders have been bargaining in good faith with the goal of reaching a contract. Here is the statement:

“Home Care leadership has been bargaining in good faith since May of 2024 in a sincere effort to make progress towards reaching an initial contract, and has reached tentative agreement with the Union on many proposals. We will continue to negotiate in good faith and work to reach an agreement that is fair to all Home Care employees, those who are represented by the union, and those who are not.”

“UR Medicine Home Care is a not-for-profit Home Health Care Agency with fewer than 400 employees. We deliver high-quality, compassionate health care and support services for homebound and medically frail patients across Monroe, Livingston, Wyoming, Ontario, Wayne, Seneca, and Yates counties. While the University of Rochester is our parent corporation, UR Medicine Home Care is a separately licensed entity and employer, and as such these contract negotiations are separate from the University and its Medical Center.” 

1199SEIU represents about 110 home care workers who provide for homebound patients in Monroe County and surrounding counties. Those workers include registered nurses, child life specialists, dietitians, medical social workers, and many other professionals.

Both sides returned to the bargaining table on Thursday afternoon and have a full-day session scheduled for Saturday. We’ll update this story once we have more details on the negotiations.