Welcome to LVHH
The League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes of New York (LVHH) is an association, formed in 1968, of 109 non-profit medical centers, hospitals, nursing homes and their affiliated facilities in the greater New York metropolitan area. The League acts as the bargaining agent for its members in labor contracts and represents them primarily in the negotiations with 1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East. (For more information on 1199 SEIU, your can visit their website at www.1199seiu.org.) With a couple of exceptions, all members of the League are members of, or are eligible for membership in, the Greater New York Hospital Association, Inc. (GNYHA) whose website can be accessed at www.gnyha.org for more information. This web-page was last updated on December 3, 2008.
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League/1199 Negotiations
LEAGUE AND 1199 SEIU TO BEGIN NEGOTIATIONS SEEKING MODIFICATIONS TO THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT
Talks Slated for Early May Aimed Primarily at Stabilizing Pension and Health Benefits for Health Care Workers and Retirees
April 27, 2009- The League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes of New York ("League") and 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East ("1199 SEIU") announced today they have agreed to seek modifications to the current collective bargaining agreement through negotiations that will begin in early May. Although the current agreement began on July 1, 2007 and runs through September 30, 2011, the decision to attempt to modify the agreement at this time was precipitated primarily by the need to proactively tackle funding issues facing both the 1199 SEIU Health Care Employees Pension Fund ("Pension Fund") as well as the National Benefit Fund ("Benefit Fund"), which provide pension and health care benefits, respectively, under the agreement. Acting now gives the League and 1199 SEIU the ability to stabilize the Funds and member benefits, and pre-empt more serious issues from developing over the next year.
Last month, the Pension Fund’s trustees were notified by the Pension Fund’s actuaries that, because of the national economic downturn, the Pension Fund had lost approximately one-third of its assets. As a consequence, under Federal law, the Pension Fund’s status is now in critical or so-called "red" zone, which requires that steps be taken to restore the Pension Fund to a more stable condition. At the same time, health care cost inflation has taken a toll on the Benefit Fund’s resources, thereby triggering the need for further cost containment efforts.
As a result, the League and 1199 SEIU agreed recently that the best way to address these issues is to modify the current agreement. Such an approach provides more options for finding a comprehensive solution that will lead to the long term, overall stability for both Funds. The agreement affects wages and benefits for some 145,000 members who work in hospitals and nursing homes and nearly 48,000 retirees. The League has 108 member hospitals and nursing homes in the New York metropolitan area.
League President Bruce McIver said, "The League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes of New York is firmly committed to ensuring the long-term stability and viability of the Pension and Benefits Funds. Given the issues facing these Funds, we believe the best way to address these problems is to modify the existing collective bargaining agreement at this time. Such actions will enable the Union and Management to jointly develop solutions that will ensure the Pension and Benefit Funds can meet their continuing obligations without disruption to the workers and retirees they serve."
1199 SEIU President George Gresham said, "The impact of this recession on our Pension Fund, and on every other Pension Fund in the country, has been severe. We cannot allow this crisis to paralyze us. We can either sit here and do nothing or we can seize this opportunity to find ways to stabilize and protect our benefits. Our delegates voted recently to act now and reconvene our negotiating committee to discuss reopening the contract with the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes in order to save our benefits. We know that the talks ahead of us will be difficult, but we also know that we have a good partner in the process. For many years, in good times and in bad, we have sat across the bargaining table from the League to negotiate contracts that value the contributions of the workers by preserving our benefits and ensuring fair wages."
The negotiations come at a particularly difficult time for the hospital and nursing home community. Many institutions have had operating deficits for multiple years, and their financial condition may deteriorate further as the impact of Medicaid cuts and other reforms included in the recently exacted New York State budget take effect.
"Despite the enormous fiscal problems facing our hospitals and nursing homes, Management and the Union have worked together successfully in recent years on many important causes. The Union’s leadership and its willingness to discuss modifications to the current agreement in order to tackle the problems facing the Pension and Benefit Funds are deeply appreciated by the League. I am confident that together we can arrive at a fiscally responsible and fair modified collective bargaining agreement," McIver added.
UPCOMING NEGOTIATING SCHEDULE:
Tuesday, June 16
Wednesday, June 17
Thursday, June 18
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