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By M. PAUL JACKSON mjackson@leader.net
Friday, January 28, 2000 Page: 1C
WILKES-BARRE – Two years after signing their first union contract, the 572
registered nurses of the Wyoming Valley Health Care System went to work
Thursday with no new contract in sight.
The nurses’ contract expired Wednesday.
System officials confirmed that the Wyoming Valley Health Care System and
PSEA Health Care, the union representing the employees, have not reached an
agreement.
Both sides met for 16 hours Wednesday to negotiate a new contract, hospital
spokesman Jim Roberts said. He would not elaborate.
The health system “remains committed to reaching a new collective
bargaining agreement with the PSEA,” Roberts said in a prepared statement.
Representatives of the PSEA could not be reached for comment.
But some health system workers said the current discussions have been
strained.
The union, in a memo Wednesday to members, outlined about 18 different
contract negotiation points. There is no agreement on most of those points,
the memo said.
Two years ago, negotiations between the health system and the union drove
the nurses to the brink of a strike.
Before a strike vote could be taken, the union must first give a 10-day
notice to the hospital and the state.
Employees of the health system – made up of Wilkes-Barre General and
Nesbitt Memorial Hospital – were hesitant Wednesday to talk about the union
situation, but one employee seemed hopeful.
“They’re still negotiating,” said one health system employee, who asked
to not be identified.
The next round of talks is scheduled for Monday.
The negotiations come in the midst of conflict between the health system
and some employees of Nesbitt Memorial Hospital.
In December, the health system announced plans to build a $20 million
ambulatory service center adjacent to Wilkes-Barre General.
The four-story facility would house a same-day surgery center, a pharmacy
and physicians’ office space. It could be completed by fall.
But some staffers at Nesbitt Memorial – which has its own same-day surgery
center – fear they could be forced out of their jobs when the new center
opens.
Roberts has said that the fate of the employees in the Kingston surgery
center is an issue in the contract talks.
Call Jackson at 829-7134.