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Re John J. Foley Skilled Nursing Facility
7/8/2010
- Cheryl A. Felice, President
Dear AME Members,
AME called a Special Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday, July 6, 2010 @ 3:30 p.m. for the purpose of discussing cost saving options to save the John J. Foley Skilled Nursing Facility from privatization.
AME President Cheryl A. Felice, detailed how “give-backs” became the overriding demand from the County because several members from Foley testified their willingness to give concessions to the Suffolk County Legislature. These members were neither part of the AME or Unit Executive Board and their “offer” to “give-back” hard earned wages was never discussed or agreed to by AME, the legal bargaining unit.
Nevertheless, AME stood firm against these concessions and instead pointed out the County’s gross mismanagement of Foley. AME presented to the County a 16-point plan designed to save millions of taxpayer dollars, none of which were considered or adopted by the County Executive.
The 42 members of the AME Board of Directors deliberated for nearly two hours at the Special BOD meeting on the ramifications “give-backs” would have on AME’s current contract negotiations, and concluded unanimously that “No” concessions would be agreed to or offered. The County’s decision to grossly mismanage the Foley facility lies solely with them.
If the Suffolk County Legislature adopts Levy’s proposal to sell Foley, AME will not engage in any legal actions to prevent it. We will work with the County to seek transfers for as many personnel from Foley as possible into the over 1,000 vacant positions throughout the County.
Most importantly, we will stay focused on and continue to aggressively pursue contract negotiations for our nearly 7,000 members who are the backbone of Suffolk’s workforce and who deserve no less.
Please continue to check the AME website www.scame.org for updates.
Unity wins,
Daniel P. Farrell
Executive Vice President