Tentative deal reached in Meyersdale nursing home contract

Feb. 24—MEYERSDALE, Pa. — A tentative agreement has been reached in the contract dispute between nursing home workers at Meyersdale Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center and the home's new owner, Abraham Smilow, a union spokeswoman said Friday.

"Workers will vote on Monday," Emily Dong, of the Service Employees International Union, said.

"We will know if we have a contract or not on Monday and the details of the contract can be released then."

The Meyersdale workers, along with union workers at Western Reserve Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Erie, filed a strike notice earlier this week for Wednesday.

Both homes are now part of Guardian Healthcare, but are being sold to Smilow, effective Wednesday.

The SEIU said Smilow has proposed changes that create a two-tiered paid time-off policy giving new staff less vacation and sick time and replaces union health insurance.

The change comes just six months after the union signed a new contract with Guardian that invests in staffing, wages and health care, the union says.

___

(c)2023 The Tribune-Democrat (Johnstown, Pa.)

Visit The Tribune-Democrat (Johnstown, Pa.) at www.tribune-democrat.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.