Pa. nursing home strikes put ‘on hold’

Unionized nursing home workers who planned to strike at 21 homes around Pennsylvania said late Monday they have reached tentative agreements putting all of the strikes “on hold.”

It means there will be no strike occurring Tuesday at Harrisburg region facilities including The Gardens at Blue Ridge in Dauphin County, The Gardens at West Shore in Cumberland County and Rose City Nursing and Rehabilitation in Lancaster County.

Employees including certified nursing assistants, nurses and support staff had authorized one-day strikes in an effort to force the homes to use $247 million recently received from the state to raise wages.

They are represented by SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania and still must review and vote on the tentative agreements. SEIU said it sought short-term agreements to alleviate a staffing crisis, but cited a need for a long-term solution to transform what it calls a “poverty wage” occupation.

“This is definitely a good day, but our work isn’t done,” CNA Barb Kozar said in a news release. “These agreements will improve conditions and care in our homes, but it really is only the first step. We need to change care delivery for the better. We need nursing home operators to continue working with us to make these jobs that people really want to have so we can really improve care at the bedside.”

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