What to know about the week ahead
Bargaining between Kaleida Health and the Communications Workers of America Local 1168 and 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East will resume Monday as the two sides work to reach a new collective bargaining contract for about 6,300 employees.
Most of last week’s face-to-face bargaining was canceled because Kaleida officials needed to be on site at the health system’s facilities while surveyors from an accreditation agency were there.
Kaleida and the unions continue to try to close the gap on an economic package that includes wages, benefits and staffing. Both sides have said they remain far apart.
Union members on Sept. 15 voted to give their bargaining committee the authority to call a strike, if necessary. A 10-day notice of strike, however, has not yet been called, giving negotiators time to reach a deal.
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The Buffalo Planning Board on Monday will consider special-use permit applications for:
• Ahmad Khobaib’s Al-Badr Islamic Center, to convert an abandoned red-brick warehouse at 691 William St. into a mosque, with prayer five times a day, weekly prayer on Friday and two holidays a year.
• Tiera Henry, to open 898 Lounge restaurant and bar in a vacant two-story building at 898 Clinton St. with capacity for 130 people.
The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library and Townsquare Media are partnering on an in-person job fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Central Library, at 1 Lafayette Square. More than 20 businesses and organizations are scheduled to participate. Attendees are asked to bring their resumes.
Lawley Medicare Solutions will hold its grand opening 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday at Southgate Place, at 1074 Union Road in West Seneca. The center focuses on senior and individual education, plan enrollment and customer service.
The Arc Erie County, a nonprofit that supports children and adults with developmental disabilities, will cut the ribbon at 10 a.m. Friday on its Workforce Training Center at 2643 Main St. in Buffalo. The $1.3 million center aims to provide targeted skill development to prepare people with disabilities to enter the workforce.
Author Jacquie Abram will talk about the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion, and anti-racism policies in the workplace, at 10 a.m. Friday at the Northland Workforce Training Center, 683 Northland Ave. The event is free. Abram is the author of “Hush Money: How One Woman Proved Systemic Racism in Her Workplace and Kept Her Job.”
Western New York college students are invited to Be In Buffalo’s College Carnival from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Seneca One, 1 Seneca St., Buffalo. Dozens of local employers will be at the event advertising upcoming internship and job opportunities. Students can also get tips to improve their resumes and interviewing skills. For more information and to register, visit BeinBuffaloCollegeCarnival.eventbrite.com.
High School students interested in attending a military academy are encouraged to register for Academy Night, a virtual information night on Monday, Oct. 3. The 6 p.m. session covers how to get nominated to attend the U.S. Military Academy, Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and Merchant Marine Academy.
Information about the application and nomination process can be found on Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s website and on Congressman Brian Higgins’ website. Register for Academy Night here.
One M&T Plaza, the headquarters of M&T Bank, will be the site of “Over the Edge,” a fundraiser on Saturday that will benefit the United Way of Buffalo & Erie County, and John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital. People who commit to raising at least $2,000 can rappel down the building.
This newsletter from The Buffalo News will bring you the latest coverage on the changing Buffalo Niagara economy – from real estate to health care to startups. Read more at BuffaloNext.com.
THE LATEST
Recent news tied to Buffalo Niagara’s economy
Brace yourself: Home heating bills are forecast to soar by 50% this winter, National Fuel Gas predicts.
The president of SUNY-Buffalo State College is retiring at the end of the school year.
ECMC is starting contract talks with the union representing 1,300 of its nurses.
Developer Douglas Jemal is setting his sights on Lackawanna now. He’s been picked to develop a $35 million project to bring apartments and retail to a former church site on Ridge Road.
Unemployment remained at modern-day lows across the Buffalo Niagara region during August.
M&T Bank is feeling more heat from Connecticut politicians over its handling of the systems conversion at People’s United Bank.
AllPro Parking is being acquired by a national parking chain.
Amherst material handling equipment maker Columbus McKinnon is moving its headquarters to North Carolina, but say the shift only involves four of its highest-ranking executives.
Starbucks has fired nearly a dozen local workers who were active in the organizing campaign in the Buffalo Niagara region – and the Starbucks Workers United union is crying foul.
Kaleida Health union workers have voted to authorize a strike. Will it happen?
The fire in December at Buffalo’s Grand Hotel caused $50 million in damage. The owner is trying to recoup that from his insurer.
ICYMI
Five reads from Buffalo Next:
1. How sponsorships bring big money to sports teams, marketing opportunities for companies: For the companies, it is a chance to use the professional sports team as a marketing tool. For the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres, it is a way to bring in more marketing revenue.
2. The Buffalo Niagara job market got back on track during August, with hiring resuming at its fastest pace since March and easing concerns that surfaced after the July jobs report showed a loss of jobs across the region.
3. How dentists and counselors aim to address health inequity in one of Buffalo’s poorest neighborhoods: This $2 million project, a partnership between nonprofits Gerard Place and Lackawanna-based OLV Human Services, could boost access to mental health and dental services in Buffalo’s Bailey-Delavan neighborhood.
4. Pickup in WNY housing inventory means more opportunity and time for buyers: Homebuyers in Western New York are starting to breathe easier and take more time before making their decisions, now that there are more homes for sale on the market and less need for them to act quickly. But they still can’t dawdle. And it doesn’t mean they’re getting a deal on houses, which are now priced much higher than they would have been a year or two ago.
5. A remote possibility: living in Buffalo, working for out-of-town employers: The pandemic has opened up job possibilities that were relatively uncommon before spring 2020, like working from home for a company far from the Buffalo Niagara region. It is a welcome twist on the all-too-familiar story of local workers finding jobs elsewhere.
Buffalo Next reporters Jonathan D. Epstein, Jon Harris, Natalie Brophy, Matt Glynn, Janet Gramza, Samantha Christmann and Mike Petro contributed to this roundup.
The Buffalo Next team gives you the big picture on the region’s economic revitalization. Email tips to [email protected] or reach Buffalo Next Editor David Robinson at 716-849-4435.
Email tips to [email protected].
