Local union leaders pledge support for Mount Nittany workers as strike date nears
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- Central Pennsylvania unions rallied to support over 950 Mount Nittany healthcare workers.
- Mount Nittany workers announced a potential five-day strike starting July 27.
- Teamsters Local 8 advised its more than 2,400 technical employees to withdraw.
As a planned strike looms for unionized workers at Mount Nittany Medical Center, unions from across central Pennsylvania gathered to show their support for the “heart of healthcare” and the members of the SEIU Healthcare PA union.
Dozens of union members from more than seven organizations gathered at Sidney Friedman Park at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday to advocate for the more than 950 healthcare workers poised for a five-day strike on July 27 if an agreement is not reached.
“Striking is always a last resort,” said Josh Rosefsky, a maintenance worker and union officer at Mount Nittany. “Our goal was simple: an agreement that protects patients and workers from workplace violence, moves standards of community care forward and makes a fair investment in all employees that make award-winning care possible. … We still hope to reach a fair agreement.”
The strike was announced July 8 as a way to incentivize what workers characterized as fair pay to combat the rising cost of living in Centre County. This marks the first strike in more than 20 years for Mount Nittany, who last formed the picket line in 2004.
The strike announcement comes on the heels of months of failed contract negotiations between union employees and executives at Mount Nittany Medical Center. The deadline for a revised labor agreement expired on July 1, with employees citing the hospital’s unwillingness to compensate for the 4.1% inflation rate in workers’ wages, offering more significant raises for some, but not all positions.
“Mount Nittany workers have overwhelmingly decided to stand up,” Rosefsky said. “We call on executives at the top of Mount Nittany to remember the heart of healthcare. Mount Nittany has the resources and the responsibility to lead in quality care and quality jobs for all.”
Union members from the State College Area Education Association (SCAEA), which represents education professionals and support staff, expressed their support for Mount Nittany’s healthcare workers, emphasizing the value of medical services in Centre County and the importance of equitable pay industry-wide.
“There is a powerful connection between the work of educators and the work of healthcare professionals,” said Shai McGowan, president of the SCAEA. “Working conditions are patient care conditions. When nurses, technicians, service workers and every member of the healthcare team have the support they need, patients receive safer, higher-quality care.”
Teamsters Local 8 has advised its more than 2,400 technical employees to not use Mount Nittany’s services for the duration of the strike and instead direct their support to workers and their families.
“We will not cross the picket line,” Teamsters Local 8 President Jon Light said. “I know these members provide high-level care for this community daily. … It is time for us to stand with them and fight with them. The frontline workers are there for us when we need them most. We’re here to help them fight.”
The event also featured remarks from Rachel Wigmore, a member of the recently formed CGE-UAW, a union for graduate students at Penn State. Wigmore voiced support for Mount Nittany workers and the broader State College community during a turbulent moment.
“Mount Nittany has repeatedly said how important its workers are to its mission, but at the same time deny what [their] labor is worth,” Wigmore said. “In my opinion, it comes down to a lack of respect.”
Union contracts are not the only failed negotiation that might impact facility operation in the near future.
Mount Nittany recently filed a federal lawsuit for the stripping of the facility’s Sole Community Hospital designation and the corresponding $9 million in annual federal funding.
The hospital is currently undergoing major renovations, including a new 10-story 300,000 square-foot patient tower, projected to open later this year, and a new dermatology facility in Ferguson Township, which the hospital purchased for $2.3 million in 2025.
Mount Nittany is a Level IV trauma center capable of providing stabilizing care and transport to significantly injured patients, alongside specialties in pediatrics, orthopedics, imaging, spinal care and more.
Union members from across the county pledged their support for Mount Nittany workers in the event of a strike, citing the vital role these services play in serving the community.
“No worker ever wants to be on the picket line, even less for workers that care for other people,” said Connor Lewis, president of the Seven Mountains Central Labor Council. “Workers from across Centre County will be on the picket line with them every single day. … They will have the support of area labor unions, they will have the financial resources of area labor unions, and they will have the unwavering solidarity of working families in this area.”
