Tentative agreement holds off one-day nursing home strike
A tentative contract will hold off a one-day employee walkout that was planned for today at two Washington County nursing homes.
Workers at nursing homes across Pennsylvania were planning to walk out this morning and picket all day. While several still will, Premier Washington Health Center in Chartiers Township and The Grove at Washington in Canton Township are part of a dozen that will remain on the job Tuesday.
Uniontown Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center is also a part of the group of facilities that reached an agreement and will report for work as normal.
SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania announced the tentative contract Monday. The union did not disclose specific details of the agreement, but said in a press release that workers will meet this week to discuss details and hold a ratification vote.
The union said the strike was to “demand employers take steps to improve staffing by ending poverty wages for frontline essential caregivers.”
When SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania initially announced the walkout earlier this month, organizers said nursing homes needed to provide higher starting wages to recruit and retain employees.
The union pointed to $247 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan for Pennsylvania nursing homes as a potential avenue for higher wages.
SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania did not respond to requests for comment on details of the agreement. Premier Washington Health Center and The Grove at Washington also did not respond to requests for comment.