Nursing home workers at more than 50 Pennsylvania facilities are expected to receive “historic raises” after reaching a tentative contract agreement with their operators to avoid a planned strike.
The new deal between the employees and 53 total nursing homes was announced Tuesday by SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania. Each of the previous contracts had expired at the end of June and workers were planning to strike for one day before the agreement was reached.
A spokeswoman for the organization revealed to local media the agreements include “pretty historic raises” but didn’t say how much. She added most workers haven’t received significant wage increases in years.
The organization also said final details of the agreement will be shared once the ratification process is complete over the next few weeks.
One operator, Guardian Healthcare, in a statement applauded the agreement reached with workers.
“We are pleased that our negotiations with the SEIU have resulted in the cancellation of impending strike activity. We will continue to provide a caring and supportive working environment for all our caregivers who serve our residents and patients.”
Adam Marles, president and CEO of LeadingAge PA, said the threat of strikes, sales and closures are a reality for senior services across the state, and a key contributor of that remains the chronic underfunding of long-term care.
“We need a long term commitment to adequate reimbursement or we’ll be looking at a historic lack of access to good quality care for our state’s older adults,” Marles said in a statement to McKnight’s Long-Term Care News on Wednesday.
“Our members support best staffing practices and provide high-quality senior care, but a lack of state funding continues to stretch our resources to the very limit,” he added. “This administration has never provided a Medicaid funding increase or supported any funding initiatives by the General Assembly.”
