CWA Local 1168 - Temporary Administration Update #7

CWA 1168 Member Update 11/2/26

We have a lot going on as usual, but we wanted to take a moment to update the entire membership on some of the most important issues. CWA1168 Representatives have continued their advocacy daily for all of our members, our collective bargaining agreement and our patients, as we always have.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at 716-639-1168 or reach out to any of your union representatives. And if you're interested in getting more involved and helping with our fight, we want to hear from you too! The strength of our union comes from our members working together.

Trial Updates

As a follow up to our prior updates, trial dates have been set:

• The trial for Charge #1 (Charges against Patrick Weisansal) will begin on 11/30/26.
• The trial for Charge #2 (Charges against Mary Nowocien) will begin on 12/14/26. This was originally scheduled at an earlier date, but Ms. Nowocien asked for a postponement.
• Both trials will be heard by National Trial Panel members (elected CWA members from other locals).
• There was no probable cause found for the charges against Cori Gambini and Robert Andruszko.  Therefore, there will be no trial for those charges.
• Pursuant to the CWA Constitution, a decision shall be reached and written notice of the decision and penalty, if any, shall be given to the person charged within five days after the close of the trial.

Status of Local Elections

Elections are on hold while the local is under temporary administration.  Once the conditions that caused the local to be put under temporary administration are resolved, the local election process will begin.  That process is as follows:

• An announcement will go out to all members at their address that we have on record calling for a membership meeting.  
• At that meeting we will announce each race and accept nominations from the membership floor for each position that is up for election.  Nominations can only be made by members in good standing from the floor.  Once we have all the nominations, the election Chairperson will reach out to all those that are nominated and verify their acceptance of the nomination.  Each person nominated must be a CWA member in good standing to accept the nomination. 
• The election committee will then notify the membership with an official notification at their address on record of the date and times for the elections.  
• The election will be held to all laws and rules governing union elections including OLMS and The CWA Constitution and By-laws. 

Literature Being Circulated

It has been brought to our attention that literature is being circulated at some sites. A few Union stewards have been distributing this information, which has caused confusion.  Please be reminded that official communications from the Union, the current legal representative, will appear on Union letterhead and identify the names of the individuals providing the information.  

Neurology Telehealth Update

We want to provide our members with an update regarding the use of the Neurology Telehealth system at Millard Fillmore Suburban.

Management initially informed the union and employees that a new Telehealth system for neurology consults would only be used by ER and ICU providers when a neurologist was not available.The union filed a grievance after our members reported that Charge Nurses on certain units were being tasked to perform work outside of their job responsibilities related to Telehealth. Nurses were being asked to perform neurological exams while working with an online doctor through the Telehealth screen.  This was a seriously unsafe situation for RNs and our patients. We were able to resolve the grievance after many discussions with Kaleida management.

Management has now hired an in-person neurologist. The Telehealth system will be used for overnight STAT neurology consults and weekend STAT consults only when urgently needed.

Update about 2025 Social Security Wage Reporting Issue

As was previously shared by Kaleida, there was an issue with their 2025 wage reporting file.  Kaleida has resubmitted a corrected file to the Social Security Administration.  Employees can review their earnings through their personal my Social Security account and contact HR Service Center if any discrepancies remain.

For any additional questions, please contact the HR Service Center at AskHR@kaleidahealth.org or 716-859-HRSC (4772).

Update Coming Soon: 13S, 14S and 15S

We know there are still questions and concerns regarding the conversion of 13S, 14S and 15S to Medical-Surgical Units. A separate and detailed update from our BGH Representatives will be coming out to members  This update will provide a full timeline and more information about the changes and what they mean for our members.