FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, July 19
Contact: Emily Dong | emily.dong@seiuhcpa.org | (267) 761-1502
Armstrong Nursing Home Workers Vote to Ratify Union Contract, Averting Strike
After unanimously voting to send notice to strike unfair labor practices, workers at Armstrong Rehabilitation and Nursing Center voted to an agreement that improves wages, paid time off, and health insurance.
Kittanning, PA – On Thursday, SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania workers at Armstrong Rehabilitation and Nursing Center voted in favor of ratifying a new three-year union contract that includes improvements to wages and health insurance designed to retain and recruit quality caregivers. The over 60 workers sent a notice last Monday to strike unfair labor practices, which had stalled negotiations. The ratification averts the three-day Unfair Labor Practices strike scheduled for Friday, July 19 and will invest in safer staffing and quality resident care.
“Our residents should come first, and we were ready to do whatever it took for good faith negotiations that could get us to a contract that does that,” said Michelle Merryman, a housekeeper at Armstrong Rehabilitation and Nursing Center for 25 years. “This contract most importantly will improve our health insurance so we can access local doctors, emergency services, and urgent care at lower costs. All of this will help us keep and hire the best caregivers who residents deserve.”
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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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