Striking health workers reach tentative deal

After eight days of striking, SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania workers at Shenandoah Heights Healthcare nursing home reached a tentative contract agreement Saturday morning.

Workers at Shenandoah Heights were among the roughly 700 unionized workers at 14 nursing homes across Pennsylvania, including Gardens for Memory Care at Easton, who went on strike Sept. 2. The strike occurred after contract negotiations failed to produce a deal in a dispute over pay, benefits and staffing levels.

Workers at Shenandoah Heights Healthcare were the only ones left without a tentative contract Friday, after the 13 other nursing homes reached agreements with workers.

According to a news release from SEIU Healthcare, shortly after the Shenandoah Heights agreement was reached Saturday, the contract received a unanimous yes vote from all members of the bargaining unit. SEIU Healthcare plans to share more details of the Shenandoah contract and information on the tentative agreements at the other facilities on Monday.

A major reason for the contract disputes was a demand by the union that hundreds of millions of dollars coming from the state budget to nursing homes be put toward staffing and resident care as a way to tackle the staffing crisis and provide better care to residents.

State lawmakers and the administration of Gov. Tom Wolf recently increased Medicaid payments to nursing homes by nearly $300 million annually and sent another $130 million in federal coronavirus aid to help hire and retain workers. The Medicaid funding hike is a nearly 18% increase and equals about $35 more per resident per day.

The Pennsylvania Health Care Association, which represents for-profit nursing homes, previously stated the increased reimbursements will not go into effect until January and the federal money has yet to be distributed.