Union rep: 'All we want is a contract' (Wash PA SEIU/1199P)

[struggle4progress]

BY MICHAEL BRADWELL, Business editor
[e-mail]

Attorneys for Washington Presbyterian Senior Care and the union representing about 120 hourly workers at the care center will meet Monday morning for the first time since the union ended a 205-day strike and returned to work in late December.

Union members have been working under terms of an agreement that expired on March 31, 2004. The workers, represented by Service Employees International Union 1199P, include licensed practical nurses, certified nurse's aides, maintenance workers, dietary workers, housekeepers, therapy aides, pharmacy technicians and activity aides.

The six-month-long strike began June 1 after the union and the center failed to reach an agreement for a new pact. Workers were seeking a wage increase, affordable health insurance and input into staffing issues at the care center, which includes a skilled nursing facility, an assisted-living complex and Alzheimer's care unit. <snip>

"All we want is a contract and are hoping that the nursing home on Monday will come with a fair agreement," said Hughes, a certified nursing assistant. She said the union represents 250 workers at the center. <snip>

http://www.observer-reporter.com/300835212903038.bsp