Strike averted at Kittanning nursing home after workers approve new contract
Employees of a Kittanning nursing home approved a new contract Thursday, averting a strike that was scheduled to start Friday, their union announced .
SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania said workers at Armstrong Rehabilitation & Nursing Center voted in favor of ratifying a new three-year contract that includes improvements to wages and health insurance.
The previous contract expired July 1, union spokeswoman Emily Dong said. The new agreement is retroactive to that date and expires on July 1, 2027.
The ratification averts the three-day strike that had been scheduled to start Friday. The more than 60 workers gave a 10-day notice of the strike on July 9.
According to the union, the agreement improves wages, paid time off and health insurance.
“Our residents should come first, and we were ready to do whatever it took for good faith negotiations that could get us to a contract that does that,” Michelle Merryman, a housekeeper at Armstrong Rehabilitation & Nursing Center for 25 years, said in a statement.
“This contract most importantly will improve our health insurance so we can access local doctors, emergency services and urgent care at lower costs,” she said. “All of this will help us keep and hire the best caregivers who residents deserve.”
A representative of the nursing home could not immediately be reached for comment.
Brian C. Rittmeyer is a TribLive reporter covering news in New Kensington, Arnold and Plum. A Pittsburgh native and graduate of Penn State University's Schreyer Honors College, Brian has been with the Trib since December 2000. He can be reached at brittmeyer@triblive.com.
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