Union workers at Walnut Creek Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, 4850 Zuck Road, will have a new labor agreement when the Millcreek Township long-term care facility changes ownership later this month.
Members of SEIU Healthcare PA, which includes about 100 Walnut Creek employees, ratified a new three-year contract Friday when 82% of members approved the deal. The union also represents about 600 additional workers at nine other western Pennsylvania facilities currently owned by Guardian Healthcare and soon to be sold to Oxford Valley Health.
From the beginning of our conversations with the company, we made it clear that protecting resident care was our priority,” said Trent Carson, president of the union’s Walnut Creek chapter and a floor technician at the Millcreek facility. “We were prepared to do what ever it takes, including making difficult decisions as workers, for a contract that prevents hardships for residents, turnover and unsafe staffing.”
Negotiations began in September after Oxford Valley, which will operate the facilities through its subsidiary Valley West Health, notified SEIU officials that it would not honor the current labor contract with Guardian.
SEIU officials, who claimed the main obstacle in negotiations was health insurance, said in a news release that the new deal includes “quality health insurance with low costs.” They also said the new deal maintains competitive wages, with an opportunity to negotiate wages again in 2025.
“From the start, our goal was to approach this as a partnership, not just with the union but with the dedicated staff who make these facilities exceptional,” Aharon Franco, Oxford Valley’s vice president of operations, said in an email. “The discussions were productive, and we’re so proud of the collaborative spirit that emerged.”
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