FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 29, 2022
For More Information Contact:
Karen Gownley, 717-805-6070; karen.gownley@seiuhcpa.org
Andrew Benson, 814-261-5530; mediaQ@guardianeldercare.net
Nursing Home Workers and Guardian Healthcare Reach Tentative Agreement That Invests in Staffing, Wages, and Healthcare
The tentative agreement between SEIU Healthcare PA union members and Guardian Healthcare averts the strike originally planned to begin September 2nd
Statewide, PA: Nursing home workers who are members of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania and Guardian Healthcare have reached a tentative contract agreement, ending plans for strikes at 10 facilities.
“We have been committed to building a fair contract that invests in caregivers and the staffing our residents need,” said Karen Hipple, LPN at Oil City. “Being a nursing home worker has been extremely difficult, especially over the last few years. We are thankful that we were able to work with Guardian and reach this agreement that demonstrates a commitment to workers and provides what we need to care for our residents and our own families.”
“We have worked hard to reach a fair agreement with SEIU that shows Guardian’s continued commitment to our team members,” said Michael J. Herald, President & CEO of Guardian Healthcare. “We recognize the crucial role they play in caring for the residents in the many communities we serve and look forward to quickly ratifying the agreement as we continue our efforts to make Guardian an employer of choice in skilled nursing care.”
Collaborative, bipartisan support earlier this year secured $600M in the state budget for the nursing home industry to begin tackling the staffing and care crisis that facilities across the Commonwealth are currently facing. Union members and Guardian Healthcare have been in negotiations all summer and now with the agreement reached, can focus on solutions to the challenges in long term care.
“We’ve long said that building a long term care system that works for residents, families, workers and the industry would need to be a collaborative effort,” said Matthew Yarnell, President of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania. “With this agreement, Guardian has set an important precedent for other nursing home chains in PA and we hope others will follow their lead. We are excited to build a deeper labor and management partnership which has been codified in these new agreements covering over 1,200 nursing home workers across 18 facilities.”
The bargaining committees, made up of workers from the facilities, have unanimously recommended the tentative agreement because of statewide wage scales and affordable health insurance. Workers are ratifying the contracts this week and more details will be available after that process.
The nursing homes that were involved in these negotiations are:
Beaver Valley HC & Rehab Ctr
Belair HC & Rehab Ctr
Clarion Health & Rehab Ctr
Guardian Elder Care at Nanticoke
Haida Health & Rehab Ctr
Kinzua Health & Rehab Ctr
Meadowcrest HC & Rehab Ctr
Meadowview HC and Rehab Ctr
Meyersdale HC & Rehab Ctr
Oil City HC & Rehab Ctr
Richland HC & Rehab Ctr
Riverside Rehab & Nsg Ctr
Titusville HC & Rehab Ctr
Uniontown HC & Rehab Ctr
Walnut Creek HC & Rehab Ctr
Waynesburg HC & Rehab Ctr
Western Reserve HC & Rehab Ctr
William Penn HC & Rehab Ctr
Union workers from SEIU Healthcare PA are still in negotiations with two dozen homes owned by Comprehensive and Priority.
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