Allegheny General Hospital union nurses reach tentative agreement hours before strike vote

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Union nurses at Allegheny General Hospital reached a tentative agreement hours before a strike vote, SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania announced on Thursday. 

At meetings throughout the day and into the evening, the union said registered nurses and nurse practitioners at Allegheny General Hospital are voting to ratify a tentative agreement on a contract reached in the morning. The union said highlights of the agreement will be made public at a press conference on Friday morning. 

SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania said close to 1,300 nurses are union members and have been negotiating a new contract with the hospital since Labor Day. Two weeks ago, the union said members "voted overwhelmingly" to authorize their negotiating committee to deliver notice of a potential strike if a deal was not reached.   

Nurses had been asking for compensation improvement, for the hospital to address staff shortages and for other improvements involving patient and nurse safety. They were looking for a contract with a $40-an-hour minimum wage for nurses and "significant increases" for mid-career and senior nurses. 

The union had cited a University of Pittsburgh study saying 93 percent of Pittsburgh hospital workers are thinking about leaving the profession. 

More details of the contract will be made public at a press conference scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Friday with nurses, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and other elected officials. 

SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania says it unites tens of thousands of professional and technical employees, direct care workers and service employees in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home- and community-based services and state facilities.