Local news

Mount Nittany workers continue strike

Higgins hopeful for agreement in near future

STATE COLLEGE -- Healthcare workers at Mount Nittany Medical Center are heading into mid-week of a five-day strike as over 900 union members look for a better agreement.

"Union staff at Mount Nittany Medical Center are currently on strike for quality care and quality jobs, as well as to protest unfair labor practices that have been ongoing during negotiations," a statement from SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, one of the state's largest healthcare unions, said on Tuesday.

At its meeting the same day, Centre County Board of Commissioners' Chair Mark Higgins offered brief comments about the ongoing strike.

When asked if the strike will affect any county programs, Higgins said it does have a number of them with the hospital system.

He used examples such as the Child Access Center and mental and behavioral help and added it assists with the Centre County Correctional Facility's inmates when necessary.

"Obviously, Mount Nittany is a critical part of healthcare of Centre County," Higgins said. "We're really hoping the two different sides can come to an agreement in the near future."

Other local elected officials have also spoken out about the strike, expressing hope an agreement can be reached.

Late last week, State Rep. Paul Takac (D-Centre) urged leadership at Mount Nittany to return to the table to reach a "fair, equitable agreement with SEIU. Though it did not come to fruition, he urged officials to draw up an agreement before the strike could even begin.

"At a time of significant profits and major investments in physical infrastructure and facilities, Mount Nittany Medical Center must also make an investment in the people who make those profits and that success happens," Takac said. "All of its workers deserve a fair share of the rewards in return for their dedication, labor and service. The standard of living and personal safety of frontline healthcare and support employees should never be sacrificed to safeguard corporate and executive profits."

The Express previously reported workers for Mount Nittany said they had hoped to reach a fair agreement but were left with no choice but to authorize a strike after Mount Nittany executives offered annual raises during earlier negotiations that they said do not keep pace with the 4.2% inflation rate.

In a recent release, SEIU Healthcare noted the medical center made $183 million in profits during its last fiscal year "making it the fourth most profitable hospital in PA with an incredible 30% profit margin."

"The lack of investment in workers at Mount Nittany reflects a larger crisis in healthcare where executives at the top make huge profits, but hard work is no longer valued, and frontline workers are scraping to survive," the release said. "As the largest health system and private employer in our region, Mount Nittany determines the standards for all working people. They have both the resources and the responsibility to lead and negotiate a fair contract."

Attempts to reach a spokesperson for Mount Nittany by The Express were unsuccessful as of press time Tuesday night.

However, a previous statement provided to the newspaper said the health system had comprehensive plans in place to ensure patients continue to receive safe and high quality care with as little disruption as possible. They said the hospital, emergency department, physician practices and outpatient clinics will continue to operate as normal, and that patients should keep their scheduled appointments unless they are contacted directly by Mount Nittany Health.

"Our focus remains on caring for our community while remaining committed to reaching an agreement," Mount Nittany said. "Throughout negotiations, our proposals have included significant investments in our employees, and our goal is to reach a fair and sustainable agreement that recognizes the contributions of our employees while ensuring we can continue serving our community as an independent health system."