WILKES-BARRE — The Wyoming Valley Nurses Association reached a tentative agreement with Wilkes-Barre General Hospital on Tuesday that could avoid a planned one-day strike set by the union for next month.
The union representing more than 400 registered nurses will vote Wednesday on whether to ratify the deal that it said addresses staffing and patient concerns. That was one of the union’s main issues throughout a yearlong battle with hospital management that featured a previous strike and lockout.
“We have urgent needs at the hospital and we are pleased that management agreed to partner with us to swiftly address these issues,” Cathy Meyers of the WVNA said in a prepared statement. “We are hopeful progress will be made that keeps the hospital in compliance with state and federal regulations and allows us to provide the care our community deserves.”
Wilkes-Barre General spokeswoman Renita Fennick confirmed the tentative deal.
“Wilkes-Barre General Hospital has reached a tentative agreement with PASNAP to succeed the contract that expired on Jan. 31, 2018. Members will vote on the three-year contract on Wednesday.
“The hospital remains committed to providing the community with the highest quality care and looks forward to working with our nurses and all of our employees to continue that mission.”
The for-profit hospital is owned by Tennessee-based Community Health Systems.
The proposed three-year contract will run until Jan. 31, 2022, and includes “significant improvement in wages to recruit and retain nurses,” the union’s statement said.
The nurses and the hospital have been holding talks since December 2017. Their contract expired Jan. 31, 2018, and the two sides have had more than 20 scheduled meetings since then.
But they were talking much more lately.
Back-to-back sessions ended with the proposed agreement Tuesday. When added to their Jan. 23 meeting, the three dates were the most times the both sides met in such a short period.
Last week, the union set a one-day strike for Feb. 13, giving more than the 10-day notice required by law. But it left its offer on the table to meet until an agreement was reached.
‘State of Our Hospital’
WVNA, an affiliate of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, held a one-day strike May 31, 2018, over staffing, mandatory overtime and concerns for patients’ safety. The hospital locked out the nurses for four days before allowing them to return to work.
In their pursuit of a new contract, the nurses took their case public, recently reaching out to Luzerne County Council and Wilkes-Barre City Council. The union also released a report, “The State of Our Hospital,” to highlight understaffing and its impacts on patient care.
Last year, the nurses contacted the state Department of Health to verify the union’s concerns about conditions at the hospital. The department conducted a surprise inspection and issued its own report, listing deficiencies that the hospital said were addressed.