About 950 employees represented by SEIU Healthcare will begin a planned five-day strike 7 a.m. Monday at Mount Nittany Medical Center, leading to questions about the level of available care in Centre County during that time. It will be the first strike at Mount Nittany Health since 2004.
A “contingency staffing firm” will fill the gap for the striking nurses, the spokesperson added. Union leaders have characterized the strike as a “last resort,” something SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania formally announced July 8 and something it hoped would push hospital leaders closer to a deal. Instead, no labor agreement has yet been reached, and a union spokesperson told the CDT the next scheduled round of negotiations wasn’t slated until Monday, Aug. 3 — and came because the union requested it.
The union has called for increased staffing levels and security levels but, above all, it has demanded better wages. Union employees say annual raises don’t even cover inflation, and they point to key financial figures that show the hospital is significantly above-average compared to peers when it comes to profits and operating margins. Mount Nittany has responded by saying it’s “committed to bargaining in good faith.” Union members will stage a walkout at 7 a.m. Monday, and they will be picketing just off hospital property soon thereafter. The strike is planned to continue through Friday, July 31.
Source: centredaily.com
