Employees At 24 PA Nursing Homes To Strike

PENNSYLVANIA — Employees at 24 different nursing homes around Pennsylvania are planning to strike in protest of low wages, few benefits, working conditions, staffing issues, and what they say is a failure to bargain in good faith, the union representing them announced this week.

SEIU Pennsylvania said that Guardian Healthcare and two chains owned by Mordy Lahasky, Comprehensive Healthcare and Priority Healthcare, have cut corners and disadvantaged longterm employees by using staffing agencies. The chains represent three of the largest healthcare chains in the state.

“They (staffing agencies) don’t have the bonds and connections with residents like we do, so residents suffer," Donna Pronio, a CNA in Northeast PA, said in a statement. "The money spent on agency could – and should – be spent on hiring full time permanent staff, and investing in those of us who have been here for years."

The union says the employees are not seeing the benefits of the $600 million in funding for wages and resident care which they received following the pandemic.

"We have been the backbone of our nursing home and struggled through COVID – many of us brought COVID home to our families and one of our coworkers even died," Pronio added. "Yet they can’t even offer us healthcare we can afford.”

When employees pushed Lahasky and Guardian to provide details and transparency on

Neither has made public statement on the strike.

State Rep. Pat Harkins (Erie) expressed his concern and said "we have to be ready" to care for a growing elderly population.

“I fought hard to get hundreds of millions of dollars into the new state budget to raise caregiver wages and improve staffing so residents can get the care they deserve," he said. "I want to see these resources get to workers and the residents they care for."

Demands from the union include substantial wage increases for all employees, including minimum wage raises of $16 an hour for dietary, housekeeping, and other ancillary staff, $20 an hour for Certified Nursing Assistants, and $25 an hour for Licensed Practical Nurses.

Impacted nursing homes include the following:

Comprehensive Healthcare

• The Grove at Irwin: 249 Maus Dr. Irwin, PA 15642
• The Grove at New Castle: 715 Harbor St. New Castle, PA 16101
• The Grove at Harmony: 191 Evergreen Mill Rd. Harmony, PA 16037
• The Grove at Washington: 1198 W Wylie Ave. Washington, PA 15301
• Guardian Healthcare
• Beaver Valley Healthcare & Rehab: 257 Georgetown Rd Beaver Falls, PA 15010
• Clarion Health & Rehab: 999 Heidrick St Clarion, PA 16214
• Meyersdale Healthcare & Rehab: 201 Hospital Dr Meyersdale, PA 15552
• Oil City Healthcare & Rehab: 1293 Grandview Rd Oil City, PA 16301
• Riverside Rehab & Nursing: 500 Hospital St Taylor, PA 18517
• Titusville Healthcare & Rehab: 81 W Dillon Dr Titusville, PA 16354
• Uniontown Healthcare & Rehab: 129 Franklin Ave Uniontown, PA 15401
• Guardian Elder Care at Nanticoke: 159 Old Newport St #151 Nanticoke, PA 18634
• Richland Healthcare & Rehab: 349 Vo Tech Dr Johnstown, PA 15904
• Belair Healthcare & Rehab: 100 Little Dr Lower Burrell, PA 15068

• The Meadows at Blue Ridge: 10 House Ave Camp Hill, PA 17011
• The Meadows at West Shore: 770 Poplar Church Rd Camp, Hill, PA 17011
• The Gardens at Easton/Praxis: 500 Washington St. Easton, PA 18042
• Rose City Nursing & Rehab at Lancaster: 425 N Duke St #4905 Lancaster, PA 17602
• The Meadows at York Terrace: 2401 W Market St Pottsville, PA 17901
• Fairlane Gardens Nursing & Rehab at Reading: 21 Fairlane Rd Reading, PA 19606
• The Gardens at Wyoming Valley (Summit): 50 N Pennsylvania Ave Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701
• The Gardens at East Mountain: 101 E Mountain Blvd Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702
• The Meadows at Stroud: 221 E Brown St. East Stroudsburg, PA 18301

Other

• Shenandoah Heights Healthcare: 200 Pennsylvania Ave, Shenandoah, PA 17976