WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. — Workers at a nursing home in Williamsville are holding a one-day strike on Wednesday.
Workers at the Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Nursing Center are asking for better working conditions and more competitive wages.
They've been working without a contract since the end of last year.
"We're not going to sit here and get paid for nothing and work like slaves. You can't do that," Howard Williams, Jr., an employee with the facility for 20 years said.
Staffing shortages is one of the issues that employees say they face.
“Short staffing effects the quality of care," Ivan Tidwell, Licensed Practical Nurse said in a release. “We don’t have enough staff to cover the shifts and the residents might suffer because their care is delayed. We need more in-house workers to help to take care of our residents and to do that we need a fair contract.”
Staff on strike said they were doing so to protect the quality of care that residents would receive and to demand better working conditions.
“I’ve been here 27 years and we need to make a change,” Sally Beiter, a dietary aide, said in a news release. "I have to think about retirement and can’t do that without a pension and better wages."
The union reported that about 45% of the staff at the facility earn less than $15 an hour.