FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Contact: Emily Dong — (267) 761-1502 — emily.dong@seiuhcpa.org
More than 700 Nursing Home Workers Win Strong Union Contract Amidst Change in Facility Ownership
The contract with Oxford Valley Health, who will take over 10 union Guardian Healthcare facilities later this month, provides competitive wages and affordable health insurance needed to deter staff turnover.
Western PA – After weeks of negotiations at the bargaining table, workers at 10 union homes across western PA have used their collective strength to win a union contract that maintains care and job standards ahead of the official change in ownership from Guardian Healthcare to Oxford Valley Health. An overwhelming majority of 82% SEIU Healthcare PA union members at the homes voted late last week to ratify the contract agreement.
“I’m proud to say that by standing together as workers, we reached a fair contract with Oxford which protects our union, stabilizes our workforce, and puts resident care front and center,” said Trent Carson, a floor technician at Walnut Creek Healthcare and Rehabilitation who was a member of the bargaining committee and is president of the Walnut Creek union chapter. “From the beginning of our conversations with the company, we made it clear that protecting resident care was our priority. We were prepared to do whatever it takes, including making difficult choices as workers, for a contract that prevents hardships for residents, turnover, and unsafe staffing.”
The new three-year contract, with an opportunity to negotiate wages again next year, maintains competitive wages, quality health insurance with low costs, and other benefits such as training and education aid. The health insurance was a sticking point in negotiations for workers after Oxford Valley Health did not agree to honor the existing contract between the workers and Guardian Healthcare.
The single contract covers over 700 workers at 10 union facilities who care for over 1,000 seniors and residents: Clarion Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center (Clarion), Kinzua Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center (Warren), Haida Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center (Hastings), Oil City Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center (Oil City), Richland Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center (Johnstown), Titusville Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center (Titusville), Uniontown Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center (Uniontown), Walnut Creek Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center (Erie), Waynesburg Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center (Waynesburg), and William Penn Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center (Lewistown).
“We’ve seen what could happen when your home is sold to a new company – wages and benefits are cut, people leave, and the staff who stay do more with less,” said Genea McCartney, a licensed practical nurse for over 24 years at Waynesburg Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center and member of the bargaining committee. “We have a lot more work to do to rebuild staffing, but this new contract with Oxford is a step in the right direction in making sure we have quality union jobs and enough caregivers to provide quality care to residents. I hope it also sends a strong message to all companies looking to buy facilities in Pennsylvania that they will be held accountable to residents, workers, and taxpayers funding their operations.”
In the backdrop of contract negotiations between the workers and Oxford Valley Health, instability in the industry such as closures, sales, and bankruptcies have made it more challenging to retain and recruit caregivers in western Pennsylvania. This month, a federal bankruptcy judge approved the $53 million sale of nine nursing homes formerly operated by Comprehensive Healthcare, including 6 union homes, to Kadima Healthcare Group.
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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.
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