Indiana Township nursing home workers approve contract with new owner
Union employees of an Indiana Township nursing home Friday unanimously approved a five-year contract with the facility's new owner.
The workers, members of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, had staged an informational picket Monday outside of Cheswick Rehabilitation and Wellness Center on Saxonburg Boulevard.
Formerly owned by Consulate Health Care, Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services completed its purchase of the facility in mid-September. The previous contract between the union and Consulate was nullified.
A representative of the nursing home refused to comment Friday.
According to the union, the new agreement includes annual raises, overtime protections, affordable health insurance and staff training and education opportunities for the facility's 70 nursing, housekeeping and laundry workers.
It began Friday and will run until Sept. 1, 2022.
“We're very pleased with this new contract, and the stability it will bring to both us and our residents,” said Rachelle Brown, a licensed practical nurse at the facility. “We've seen too many of our co-workers leave in the last few months because of the uncertainty the sale brought, and the threat of wage and benefit cuts in these negotiations.
“We're confident that this contract will be able to bring in new staff and provide our residents the high quality care they deserve.”
The union said that during negotiations, the company had sought concessions including wage cuts, elimination of daily overtime pay, and abandoning the union's training and education fund.
None of those proposals were included in the final agreement, according to the union.
Instead, workers will:
• Receive 30-cent annual wage increases with an additional 20-cent increase upon ratification of the agreement
• Earn overtime pay for time worked over eight hours in a day, and 80 hours in a pay period
• Maintain shift differentials — extra pay that workers get for working nighttime shifts — for all current employees; new hires will not receive this benefit
• Participate in the union's training and education fund, beginning in 2019
Comprehensive Healthcare had also bought a Consulate facility in North Strabane in Washington County. They are expected to vote Nov. 1 on a new contract.
Brian C. Rittmeyer is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-226-4701, brittmeyer@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BCRittmeyer.
