With Strike Imminent, Mount Nittany Updates Patients and Takac Urges Return to the Bargaining Table

Approximately 950 Mount Nittany Medical Center employees are poised to begin a five-day strike on Monday, but a Centre County lawmaker is urging a return to negotiations in hopes a deal can be reached.

State Rep. Paul Takac, D-College Township, whose district includes the hospital, called on Mount Nittany management to go back to the bargaining table “to reach a fair, equitable agreement” with the unionized workers represented by SEIU Healthcare PA.

“Much valuable time has passed, and we now stand on the threshold of a strike that could be avoided and that will harm not only those directly involved, but our entire community,” Takac said in a statement on Friday. “However, there is still time to act and avert a potential strike.”

Negotiations began on April 29 and the previous three-year contract for unionized employees in nearly every hospital department expired on June 30 without a new agreement. Workers are seeking across-the-board wage increases that they say will keep pace with inflation and the rising cost of living and help maintain adequate staffing, as well as investments in workplace safety.

Mount Nittany management had offered a three-year deal with 3% raises in the first year followed by 2% in the following two years, along with an additional 2% for registered nurses pay grade increases for 19 positions, bumps for weekend and preceptor differentials and a series of new workplace safety measures, among other items.

In the latest round of negotiations on Tuesday, management presented a revised proposal, which a hospital spokesperson said was aimed at avoiding a strike, that included a one-year contract extension with 3% across-the-board wage increase for all of its unionized workers, as well as a $1,000 ratification bonus for every employee in the bargaining unit, wage scale upgrades for 18 job classifications and new investments in workplace safety.

Alicia Sowash, a nutrition and culinary services worker at the medical center, said in a statement on Tuesday night that union members were “extremely disappointed” with the new proposal and that it “moves us backward, not forward.” Workers were also critical of Mount Nittany leadership, including president and CEO Kathleen Rhine, for not being present to provide the authority needed to make a new offer.

Union members have said that Mount Nittany has a healthy balance sheet and has been able to put hundreds of millions of dollars into new facilities, points echoed by Takac on Friday.

“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 happen,” 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.”

Mount Nittany officials have said their proposals have represented “a meaningful investment in our employees while ensuring Mount Nittany Health remains a strong, independent health system for the future.”

Hospital Plans for Strike, Updates Patients

Mount Nittany has “comprehensive plans in place to ensure patients continue to receive safe, high-quality care with as little disruption as possible,” according to the hospital.

The medical center, emergency department, physician offices and outpatient practices will remain open and patients should keep scheduled appointments unless contacted otherwise. 

Some lab and imaging locations, however, will see temporary closures or changes in hours for the week of July 27-31.

Mount Nittany Health Lab – Penns Valley, Mount Nittany Health Lab – Bellefonte, the Mount Nittany Medical Center Outpatient Lab and Mount Nittany Health Imaging – Penns Valley will be closed for the week.

Other locations will operate with the following hours:

• Mount Nittany Health Lab – Philipsburg
  • Monday: 8:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
  • Tuesday to Friday: 7:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
• Mount Nittany Health Lab – Blue Course Drive
  • Monday: 12:00 p.m. to 3:45 p.m.
  • Tuesday to Friday: 7:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
• Mount Nittany Health Lab – Hospital Drive
  • Monday to Friday: 7:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.

Picketing is expected to occur each day off of Mount Nittany Health property.

Unionized employees were notified that their pay, benefits and badge access would be suspended for the duration of the strike. Bargaining unit employees are eligible to continue health coverage through COBRA.

It will be the first work stoppage at Mount Nittany Medical Center since July 2004, when workers went on strike largely over mandatory overtime issues.