Several lawmakers in Pennsylvania have expressed concerns related to contract negotiations on behalf of healthcare workers at Geisinger Community Medical Center in Scranton, Pa., part of Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger.
In a March 11 to Geisinger President and CEO Jaewon Ryu, MD, state Sen. Marty Flynn and state Reps. Kyle Mullins, Kyle Donahue, Bridget Kosierowski and Jim Haddock expressed concern about the state of negotiations and referenced issues nurses and healthcare professionals have brought to their attention pertaining to care quality that affects workers and patients.
"It is our understanding that unsafe working conditions are directly contributing to nurses leaving the hospital and further exacerbating the dangerously high staff vacancy rates," the lawmakers wrote. "Despite this situation, the management team has yet to offer meaningful proposals addressing long-term staffing stability at Geisinger CMC. We understand that during bargaining, the nurses proposed that the hospital include their own staffing grids in their contract to incentivize the hospital to follow them but this was refused."
Additionally, healthcare workers at GCMC are frustrated about what they contend is GCMC's proposal to eliminate sick time for registered nurses and nurse anesthetists, the lawmakers said.
The letter comes as hundreds of front-line healthcare workers across multiple job classifications at GCMC voted March 6 to authorize their bargaining committees to call one-day strikes.
The caregivers are members of three unions affiliated with the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, according to a PASNAP news release shared with Becker's. Currently, 940 of these members are negotiating new labor contracts.
Lawmakers in their letter said they are concerned about the health and wellness of the caregivers as well as the effect a potential strike would have on local residents, and they called on hospital management to resolve remaining issues in negotiations.
Geisinger referred Becker's to a statement the health system shared earlier this month: "Our PASNAP-represented colleagues play a critical role in the delivery of care at Geisinger Community Medical Center. We value their commitment to our community, and we respect their rights as union members. We are committed to continued good faith bargaining to reach a mutually agreeable labor contract."
Becker's will update this story if additional information is received.