FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, February 24, 2023
Contact: Emily Dong, 267-761-1502; emily.dong@seiuhcpa.org
Nursing Home Workers Reach Tentative Agreements with Meyersdale and Western Reserve Owner
Union members and nursing homes’ new owner reached the agreements just days after workers overwhelmingly decided to strike
(ERIE and MEYERSDALE, PA.) — After sending strike notices to Abraham Smilow, the new owner of Meyersdale Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center (Meyersdale) and Western Reserve Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center (Erie), nursing home workers have reached tentative contract agreements with Smilow, who had refused to accept workers’ existing union contract.
Union workers made the decision to strike after Smilow – whose ownership begins on March 1st – proposed changes to the contract workers and current owner Guardian agreed last August. The changes would have cut benefits like healthcare, retirement plans, and personal days.
Union members at both homes will now meet to hear details about the tentative agreements and then vote to ratify new contracts. No details of the agreement will be available until that process is complete.
The more than 80 union workers at Meyersdale and Western Reserve are part of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, the state’s largest and fastest-growing union of nurses and healthcare workers.
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SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania is the state’s largest and fastest-growing union of nurses and healthcare workers, uniting tens of thousands of professional and technical employees, direct care workers, and service employees in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home- and community-based services, and state facilities across the Commonwealth. SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania members are committed to improving the lives of health care workers and ensuring quality care and healthy communities for all Pennsylvanians.