Mount Nittany Spent $6.4M on Replacement Workers During Strike

Mount Nittany Medical Center spent approximately $6.4 million on temporary staffing during a five-day strike at the end of July, the hospital confirmed on Monday.

SEIU Healthcare PA, the union representing 950 medical center employees, says that figure is five times more than what regular workers would have made during the strike and could have covered wage increases of 8% for all Mount Nittany employees this year.

“Doing the math shocked me. Mount Nittany could have chosen to give us a wage increase that keeps up with inflation this year, and they still would have had half of the money that they spent on temporary workers left over,” Kelsye Stott, a registered respiratory therapist at the hospital, said. “What this showed me is that we aren’t that financially far apart on getting to a fair investment in the workers.

“It’s crazy that Mount Nittany was willing to waste financial resources on the strike and shut off our healthcare, over investing in full-time staff and settling a fair contract.”

A Mount Nittany Health spokesperson, however, said the cost of replacement staff to ensure uninterrupted hospital operations during a strike is not comparable to wage increases for regular staff.

“The cost of temporary staffing during a strike is a fixed expense incurred to ensure the hospital could remain open and continue providing safe patient care during a work stoppage,” the spokesperson wrote in an email. “It is not comparable to salary increases, which become recurring expenses and compound year over year. A wage increase affects the organization’s financial position every year going forward, including associated increases in benefit costs and other compensation-related expenses.”

Negotiations for a new contract began on April 29 and unionized workers went on strike beginning July 27, nearly a month after their previous three-year agreement expired. Workers are seeking across-the-board wage increases they say will help retain and recruit staff by keeping pace with inflation and the rising cost of living in Centre County. They’re also asking for new investments in security measures amid growing concerns about workplace violence in healthcare settings.

Strike costs were among a number of factors that Mount Nittany officials say went into its reduced wage increase proposal on Aug. 3 when the two sides returned to the bargaining table for the first time after the conclusion of the work stoppage. The primary factor, though, was a finalized 2025-26 fiscal report that showed the hospital’s first operating loss in more than a decade, according to the hospital, which also cited the impact of losing the Sole Community Hospital designation and other “ongoing reimbursement pressures and increased expenses…”

The latest proposal from hospital executives included 2% wage increases for each of the next three years, down from the 3% in the first year and 2% each of the following two years previously offered and rejected by the union, which represents workers across all departments at the medical center and satellite locations. It also eliminated previously proposed pay grade increases for nearly 20 positions and lowered additional wage increases for nurses, which a hospital spokesperson said reflected a July 16 counterproposal by the union “removing several nurse-specific compensation enhancements previously offered.”

Union members last week called the offer “deeply disappointing.”

For some reason, executives at the hospital are choosing to act like this and not listening to all the patients who want to prioritize retaining and recruiting the strongest workforce,” Stott said on Monday. “If you’re a decision-maker who does not live in the community or spend time with workers on the floor, it’s probably hard to know and hear what the community cares about. But I’m really hoping that other decision-makers can see that a fair investment in the workforce is possible and what everyone wants.”

The hospital spokesperson said the offer sought to strike a balance between compensation increases and financial pressures.

“Mount Nittany Medical Center’s proposals reflect the long-term financial realities facing the organization and healthcare providers across Pennsylvania,” the spokesperson wrote. “We must balance compensation and the need to recruit and retain employees with significant and continuing increases in the cost of pharmaceuticals, supplies and energy, as well as challenges with reimbursement and insurance denials. The fact that the organization incurred a significant cost during a strike does not mean those funds could simply be redirected to permanent wage increases.”

The union has requested “complete fiscal information” from Mount Nittany, and the spokesperson said that the medical center would “provide detailed financial information [on Tuesday].”

Workers have also called for Mount Nittany Health President and CEO Kathleen Rhine, who has not attended previous bargaining sessions, to be in attendance at all future negotiations.

The next negotiating session has not yet been scheduled.

“We’re ready to keep negotiating in good faith, and we’ll do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to ensure care and jobs standards move forward, not backward,” Stott said.

The Mount Nittany spokesperson said hospital management remains “committed to reaching a fair and sustainable agreement.”

“We continue to believe an agreement must recognize the important contributions of our employees while also protecting the long-term financial sustainability of the organization and the care we provide to our community,” the spokesperson wrote. “We remain ready to continue bargaining in good faith and look forward to reaching an agreement that is sustainable for our employees, our patients and Mount Nittany Health.”