On Monday, March 8, registered nurses at Canonsburg General Hospital near Pittsburgh voted overwhelmingly to unite with 25,000 other healthcare
workers in SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania. With a majority of 78%, nurses cast their votes to have a stronger voice on the job in order to maintain quality care standards and improve working conditions.
“We are thrilled to come together to form a union because we believe our patients and our community will benefit from nurses having a stronger voice,” said Carol Cramer, a med-surgical nurse who has worked at Canonsburg General Hospital for 37 years, “We look forward to working with hospital management to strengthen the high standards of care we are all proud of at our hospital.”
Canonsburg Hospital is part of the Allegheny Health Network, which serves 29 Pennsylvania counties, primarily in Western Pennsylvania. By forming their union, Canonsburg RNs join over 2,000 SEIU Healthcare PA members at Allegheny General Hospital and Allegheny Valley Hospital that are also part of the Allegheny Health Network.
Merri Beth Allen, a nurse who has worked at Canonsburg Hospital for 32 years: “My coworkers and I work hard every day to provide the best care to our patients who are also our parents, our pastors, our neighbors and friends. We are in a changing healthcare environment, and through our union we can work with management to make our hospital even better for patients and the community who we serve and for each other.”
“The over 25,000 nurses and healthcare workers of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania are proud and excited to welcome the Canonsburg General Hospital RNs,” said Neal Bisno, President of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania. “Our union commends the leadership of AHN and the hospital for respecting the nurses’ right to choose to form a union, and we join the nurses in committing to work with management to make CGH the best that it can be for patients and the community served by the hospital.”