HARMAR -- HarmarVillage Care Center employees want parent company Grane Healthcare to share the wealth.
Several employees, members of the Service Employees International Union Healthcare PA, picketed along Freeport Road on Thursday afternoon to advocate for a new contract.
Debbie Wenzel, a personal care aide and negotiator for the SEIU, said about 150 union members at HarmarVillage and neighboring Amber Woods have been negotiating with Grane Healthcare for a new contract since about February. The previous contract expired April 1.
Contract negotiations include a total of 300 union members at four Grane facilities in the region. Other care centers include Harmon House in Mt. Pleasant, Providence in Beaver Falls and LaurelWood in Johnstown.
"We're trying to fight for a fair contract," said Wenzel, 54, of Cheswick. "We want a better working place for our employees and our residents."
HarmarVillage is a 130-bed skilled nursing facility in Harmar. Neighboring Amber Woods is a 133-bed personal care home.
Wenzel said the nursing staff, kitchen, housekeeping and maintenance workers are covered by the contract.
"We would like to see fair wages and more affordable health care," she said.
The workers protest increasing health care costs for employees in light of Grane's $2.3 million profit in 2009.
Mark Fox, a spokesman for O'Hara-based Grane, said the company is hopeful a contract will be reached soon.
"We've made several offers and met several times," Fox said. "We'll get there."
The SEIU members said more meetings are planned for next week.
Fox said Grane is accustomed to negotiating contracts with unions, five of which represent employees at 12 Grane facilities.
"We're not anti-union or unfamiliar with negotiating with unions," he said. "We do have a great employee group. They are our power. We're very proud of them."
Fox said Grane must "navigate the recession" and its effects on company operations.
"We always pay at market rate," he said. "We continue to pay competitive salaries."
Cathy Olschefsky, an employee at Allegheny Valley Hospital in Harrison and member of the SEIU's bargaining unit there, joined the picketers Thursday to support them and her father, Larry Faulkner, who is a resident of HarmarVillage.
She said treatment of employees is reflected in treatment of patients.
"I want my father to be treated as well as possible," said Olschefsky, 49, of Harrison. Faulkner, 75, moved into HarmarVillage about a year ago to receive dialysis treatment.
Olschefsky was involved in the recent contract negotiations with the SEIU at AVH, where she works in housekeeping. She said she doesn't believe health care workers should have to pay for their health insurance.
"If you don't treat people with respect and decency, you're not going to get quality health care," she said.
