Union Workers and Nursing Home Providers Reach First Collective Bargaining Agreements in New Labor-Industry Partnership

Built upon the new partnership between the Pennsylvania Health Care Association and SEIU Healthcare PA, the inaugural union contracts invest in worker wages, retirement, and training at 27 facilities.

Statewide – Over 2,500 union nursing home workers and providers at Saber Healthcare, WeCare, Kadima Healthcare, and Focus reached the first collective bargaining agreements as part of the new labor-industry partnership between the Pennsylvania Health Care Association (PHCA) and SEIU Healthcare PA. An overwhelming majority of 90% SEIU Healthcare PA union members at the twenty-seven homes voted over the past three weeks to ratify the contract agreements.

Built through weeks of negotiations convened by the partnership, the inaugural two-year union contracts raises wages, invests in secure retirement, and establishes training and education opportunities to deter staff turnover. Saber Healthcare, WeCare, Kadima Healthcare, and Focus have agreed to invest approximately $120 million in wage increases over the next two years to combat challenges in workforce retention and recruitment.

“I’m proud of the work of this contract. We worked together to build a better place for residents and caregivers,” said Tammy Cecconello, a certified nursing assistant at Greene Health and Rehab, a Saber facility in Greensburg. “For the first time, I got to sit and talk with the owner of my home about shared goals. We had to make tough decisions with federal funding cuts, and we made them together. This Alliance contract invests in all essential workers in our homes and will make quality staff want to work for these employers.”

The partnership agreement covers union workers at 27 nursing homes across the Commonwealth who care for thousands of seniors and residents:

Saber Healthcare

Ambler Extended Care Center (Ambler)
Broad Mountain Health and Rehab (Frackille)
Bryn Mawr Extended Care Center (Bryn Mawr)
Dunmore Health Care Center (Dunmore)
Greene Health and Rehab (Greensburg)
Harmar Village Care Center (Cheswick)
Harmon House Care Center (Mount Pleasant)
Hilltop Heights Health and Rehab (Johnstown)
Julia Ribaudo Extended Care Center (Lake Ariel)
Kittanning Care Center (Kittanning)
Langhorne Gardens Health and Rehab (Langhorne)
Mountain City Nursing and Rehab (Hazleton)
Providence Health and Rehab (Beaver Falls)
Slate Belt Health and Rehab (Bangor)
Spruce Manor Nursing and Rehab (West Reading)
Whitestone Care Center (Stroudsburg)

WeCare

WeCare at Monroeville (Monroeville)
WeCare at Mount Lebanon (Pittsburgh)
WeCare at Murrysville (Murrysville)

Kadima Healthcare

Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at Cheswick (Cheswick)
Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at North Strabane (Canonsburg)
Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at Irwin (North Huntingdon)
Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at Washington (Washington)
Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at New Castle (New Castle)
Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at Harmony (Harmony)
Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at Lititz (Lititz)

Other Ownership

Care Pavilion Nursing and Rehab (Philadelphia)

The collective bargaining agreements and joint funding advocacy come at a perilous moment for the country’s nursing homes after $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts over the next ten years were recently passed. Since 2021, Pennsylvania has seen 30 nursing homes close their doors, and more facilities, especially in rural areas, are expected to close with recent cuts. One-third of Pennsylvanians will be 65 years and older by 2030, but we do not have the skilled caregivers to meet this growing need.

The labor-industry partnership, announced in April, was created to jointly tackle this crisis through accountable funding advocacy, growth, and collective bargaining. PHCA and SEIU Healthcare PA are calling for a much-needed ‘fix’ to the outdated Budget Adjustment Factor (BAF), which places a ‘ceiling’ on nursing home reimbursements. If enacted, this would infuse approximately $140 million new dollars into the long-term care system for sustainability, workforce investment, and high-quality care.

“Our partnership is built on the foundation of collective advocacy. What benefits providers ultimately supports workers, and vice-versa. We cannot afford to work individually or in ‘silos’ anymore, and that’s why we’re proud to team up on behalf of long-term care in Pennsylvania,” said Zach Shamberg, President & CEO of the Pennsylvania Health Care Association. “But it can’t just be stakeholders – we need the support of our elected officials. And as this year’s state budget process continues, we’re calling on lawmakers to support our long-term care continuum.”

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PHCA stands as the leading advocacy association in the commonwealth, representing the interests of Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable residents and the dedicated providers who care for them. Our core mission is to elevate, educate, and advocate on behalf of these residents, their caregivers, and our network of over 450 long-term care providers. At PHCA, we are committed to sustaining a robust and high-quality long-term care continuum across Pennsylvania and are dedicated to advancing the work of our members, leveraging our extensive industry knowledge to ensure their long-term success in an evolving healthcare landscape. Learn more at phca.org.

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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