Workers at 14 nursing homes in Pennsylvania go on strike
Workers from 14 nursing homes in Pennsylvania went on strike Friday after marathon contract negotiations failed to produce a deal.
About 700 unionized workers walked off the job in a dispute over pay, benefits and staffing levels. Photos and video on social media showed picket lines going up outside many of the homes, with workers carrying signs and wearing the purple T-shirts of their union, SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania.
"Our goal has always been — and continues to be — to get a fair contract that invests in this entire workforce and will meaningfully address the staffing crisis," said Matthew Yarnell, SEIU president.
He accused the nursing home operators of "failing to create the kind of wage scales we've been able to achieve with other providers."
State lawmakers and the administration of Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf recently hiked Medicaid payments to nursing homes by nearly $300 million annually and sent another $130 million in federal coronavirus aid to help them hire and retain workers. But striking workers are at odds with two for-profit nursing home operators, Comprehensive Healthcare and Priority Healthcare, over how that money will be spent, according to investigative outlet Spotlight PA. The union noted that 15 Comprehensive facilities are accused of wage theft while others have been fined for quality violations.
Talks began Thursday morning and ended early Friday without a deal, with no new negotiations scheduled. The strike affects homes in a dozen counties throughout the state. Workers at four other nursing homes in western Pennsylvania will join the strike on September 9 if they can't agree to a new contract.
Nursing homes have long struggled with high turnover, made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some facilities were forced to close or downsize because of lagging Medicaid reimbursements, according to trade groups.
Pennsylvania has about 700 licensed nursing homes.
