Unionized Mount Nittany workers are set for a 5-day strike. Why they’re taking the ‘last resort’
Several dozen unionized workers at Mount Nittany Medical Center stood together Thursday afternoon in a corner of Spring Creek Park — with the hospital peaking over their shoulders in the distance — while several took turns explaining why they scheduled a five-day strike for later this month.
The short-term strike is set to start 7 a.m. July 27 after months of negotiations failed to produce a new labor agreement for the roughly 950 members of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania. Unionized members include registered nurses, lab technicians, maintenance workers, and more.
“While the cost of living in Centre County has gone up, wages for all workers at Mount Nittany haven’t,” said registered nurse Jess Mulroy, a longtime resident who’s worked there a decade. “Workers are struggling to keep up with the rising costs of housing, gas, groceries and childcare. Inflation is at an all-time high of 4.1%. Many of us are forced to live in other counties and commute long distances to work. ...
“We have invested our all in Mount Nittany because we love our patients, and we love the care we provide them. This time, it’s Mount Nittany’s time to invest in all of us, our patients and our community.”
While union members also hoped to see improvements in staffing levels and security levels (e.g. more security guards), the emphasis overwhelmingly remained on wages during Thursday’s press conference. The medical center recently offered a 7% general raise spread over three years — in addition to more pay for registered nurses — and 98% of union members responded by voting Wednesday for a five-day strike.
Mount Nittany’s general proposed raise — a 3% increase in Year 1, and 2% increases in Years 2 and 3 — remained lower than the 4.2% inflation rate over the last 12 months, union members pointed out. Josh Rosefsky, a utilities specialist and maintenance worker, said starting wages in his department still aren’t all that different from the convenience store chain Sheetz.
“Striking is always a last resort for us as healthcare workers,” added Jenna Cowan, a medical laboratory scientist. “But when Mount Nittany, at the peak of their success and growth, is not investing in moving all workers and patient care forward, it’s important for the front-line workers on the inside to speak up on behalf of those on the outside.”
Based on public reports, Mount Nittany Medical Center’s operating margin — a key measure of financial performance — stood at a healthy 17.94% in the latest fiscal year, more than double the statewide hospital average of 7.15%. Between that and varied construction projects, union members painted the hospital more as unwilling, as opposed to unable, when it came to increasing wages.
In response to the announced strike, Mount Nittany Medical Center issued a statement Thursday saying that it’s “dedicated to negotiating fairly and finding a solution that supports our staff while ensuring we can continue delivering outstanding care to the communities we serve.”
In an email to the CDT, a spokesperson added the hospital’s latest proposal — which was soundly rejected by the union — would’ve included additional salary upgrades for 19 positions beyond the general increases. That could’ve provided 55% of union workers with additional increases from 2% to 12%.
“We remain committed (to) active and constructive discussions at the bargaining table,” the spokesperson added.
Under a hot sun at Spring Creek Park, some union members clad in blue and green scrubs brought their children, who played in the shade or toted signs like their parents. Blue-and-yellow signs read, in part, “Invest in ALL Mount Nittany Workers” and “Mount Nittany Workers Unite.”
While nearly all favored the five-day strike, a strategy often used by healthcare unions to increase visibility and pressure hospitals into bargaining, some union members also expressed hope that a strike might ultimately be averted.
Although Mount Nittany Medical Center insisted, in a statement, that it will remain open during the strike and “ensure care and services continue as usual,” the hospital would undoubtedly also prefer to avoid a strike.
“I would love if they would bring us back to the table and settle the contract before we go on strike, since we’re not going on strike until the 27th,” Cowan told the CDT after Thursday’s press conference. “I feel like we have time and, if that’s something that they would entertain, then I know that the committee and myself would be more than happy to do that.”
The strike at the hospital would be the first since 2004. Healthcare unions are required to give at least 10-day notice before going on strike, and Mount Nittany Medical Center said it received the notice by 2 p.m. Thursday.
Negotiations have been ongoing since the end of April, and the previous three-year contract expired July 1.
The union has seen support from some local officials, including State Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Rush Township, who issued a written statement ahead of Thursday’s press conference, echoing union members’ calls for the hospital to invest in its workers.
“Corporate executives and profit margins must never be prioritized above the needs and livelihoods of working people,” he wrote on social media. “It is no secret that wages have not kept pace with the rising cost of living in our region.
“We must call on Mount Nittany executives to invest their significant profits in their frontline workers, as they continue providing the highest quality care and provide for this community.”
Sabrina Casher, an emergency department technician, was one of those frontline workers whom Conklin referred to. Casher said she might be doing emergency chest compressions one moment and starting blood work another. She said she takes pride in talking to patients, learning they passed other hospitals on their way to Mount Nittany because of the trust they have in its level of care.
She’s “terrified” that standard might slip backward. She succinctly ended her time with the microphone with a message about raising wages that garnered a few nods from her colleagues.
“Mount Nittany not only has the resources to do so — they have the moral responsibility,” she said.
CDT reporter Bret Pallotto contributed to this report
This story was originally published July 9, 2026 at 7:58 PM.
