Mount Nittany Medical Center union members agree to new 3-year contract

Union members at Mount Nittany Medical Center approved a new contract Friday, just hours before the old one was going to expire. SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania said in a statement Sunday that more than 900 health care workers at the Centre County hospital voted for the three-year deal.

The union statement said the agreement includes investments to recruit and keep staff and “preserve Mount Nittany as an independent provider at a time of rapid hospital consolidation and an unprecedented staffing crisis.” Earlier this year, California-based Kaiser Permanente announced it would acquire Geisinger.

“We value our community hospital,” registered nurse Jess Mulroy said. “We don’t want to be gobbled up by some big out-of-town chain. We’re proud that we negotiated the serious investments needed to keep good union jobs at Mount Nittany and take our hospital into the future.”

Mount Nittany Health said they were “pleased” to have reached a deal with the union.

“We appreciate our team and believe this agreement will continue to position us as a preferred employer in this region,” Amy Trithart, chief human resources officer, wrote in an emailed statement. “We would like to thank everyone who contributed to reaching this agreement and to our entire team for their daily work to ensure our community is well served.”

The contract also addresses health care worker burnout and a nationwide increase in threats against providers, the union said. It includes: an investment of almost 15% for all union members through annual guaranteed raises and an immediate $3,000 signing bonus; additional pay boosts for registered nurses, respiratory therapists and nursing assistants; and a workplace safety committee that will allow union members and hospital administrators to work together on safety initiatives.

“I’m proud of what we did to carry our community through the pandemic,” said Josh Rosefsky, a maintenance worker and secretary-treasurer of the Mount Nittany union. “But the past three years have been among the most challenging of our careers. This contract is about recognizing what we have been through and providing the support to keep people here for the next three years and beyond.”

This story was originally published July 3, 2023 at 6:00 AM.