Union postpones strike, hopes for contract by Tuesday (1199 / CT)

[struggle4progress]

By Mary Ellen Godin, Record-Journal staff

MERIDEN — <snip>

The New England Health Care Workers, District 1199 will continue to negotiate with iCare Management, the parent company of Silver Springs and seven other state nursing homes.

"In view of iCare's commitment to make significant new proposals, we agreed to suspend the strike notices briefly," said District 1199 President Jerome P. Brown.

"However, if we have not reached a tentative contract agreements for all eight facilities by Tuesday, April 26, we will resend those notices with a new deadline of May 9," Brown said. <snip>

Union spokeswoman Deborah Chernoff said there have been two sets of factors holding up the negotiations — some related to individual facilities, such as not enough housekeeping hours at Silver Springs, and more general issues, such as pay disparities for the same jobs at different nursing homes. <snip>

http://www.record-journal.com/articles/2005/04/23/news/business/business01.txt