‘We had to make tough decisions’: More than 2,500 workers at 27 Pa. nursing homes approve new two-year contracts

More than 2,500 workers at 27 Pennsylvania nursing homes have reached collective bargaining agreements.

The new contracts for the employees at the Saber Healthcare, WeCare, Kadima Healthcare, and Focus nursing homes were announced on Wednesday by SEIU (Service Employees International Union) Healthcare PA and the Pennsylvania Health Care Association.

The nursing homes includes Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at Lititz in Lititz, Lancaster County.

An overwhelming majority of the union members at the 27 homes voted over the past three weeks to ratify the contract agreements, according to SEIU Healthcare PA.

After weeks of negotiations, the SEIU says that the two-year union contracts raise wages, invest in secure retirement, and establish training and education opportunities to deter staff turnover.

Saber Healthcare, WeCare, Kadima Healthcare, and Focus have agreed to invest approximately $120 million in wage increases over the next two years, according to the SEIU.

“I’m proud of the work of this contract. We worked together to build a better place for residents and caregivers,” Tammy Cecconello, a certified nursing assistant at Greene Health and Rehab, said in a news release. “For the first time, I got to sit and talk with the owner of my home about shared goals. We had to make tough decisions with federal funding cuts, and we made them together. This Alliance contract invests in all essential workers in our homes and will make quality staff want to work for these employers.”

The agreement covers union workers at these 27 nursing homes in Pennsylvania:

Saber Healthcare

• Ambler Extended Care Center (Ambler)
• Broad Mountain Health and Rehab (Frackville)
• Bryn Mawr Extended Care Center (Bryn Mawr)
• Dunmore Health Care Center (Dunmore)
• Greene Health and Rehab (Greensburg)
• Harmar Village Care Center (Cheswick)
• Harmon House Care Center (Mount Pleasant)
• Hilltop Heights Health and Rehab (Johnstown)
• Julia Ribaudo Extended Care Center (Lake Ariel)
• Kittanning Care Center (Kittanning)
• Langhorne Gardens Health and Rehab (Langhorne)
• Mountain City Nursing and Rehab (Hazleton)
• Providence Health and Rehab (Beaver Falls)
• Slate Belt Health and Rehab (Bangor)
• Spruce Manor Nursing and Rehab (West Reading)
• Whitestone Care Center (Stroudsburg)

WeCare

• WeCare at Monroeville (Monroeville)
• WeCare at Mount Lebanon (Pittsburgh)
• WeCare at Murrysville (Murrysville)

Kadima Healthcare

• Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at Cheswick (Cheswick)
• Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at North Strabane (Canonsburg)
• Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at Irwin (North Huntingdon)
• Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at Washington (Washington)
• Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at New Castle (New Castle)
• Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at Harmony (Harmony)
• Kadima Rehabilitation & Nursing at Lititz (Lititz)

Other Ownership

• Care Pavilion Nursing and Rehab (Philadelphia)

The collective bargaining agreements are the first ones as part of a new labor-industry partnership that was announced in April between the Pennsylvania Health Care Association and SEIU Healthcare PA.