SEIU contracts raise pay, boost care at 45 Pa. nursing homes

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• 4,000 SEIU workers at 45 Pa. nursing homes ratify new contracts

• Contracts aim to ease staffing shortages and protect care standards

• Union partnership targets industry stability amid Medicaid threats

New contracts for 4,000 SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania caregivers over the past two months have raised wages, improved training, and aim to fix staffing shortages amid Medicaid cuts. 

The workers at 45 Pennsylvania nursing homes overwhelmingly ratified the contract agreements with standards designed to solve workforce challenges in the face of industry instability and impending Medicaid cuts by Trump. 

“We went into negotiations being realistic about our needs and moving caregivers forward,” Jeannine Horner, a certified nursing assistant at Windber Woods in Windber, said in a statement. “This contract addressed those needs: Quality raises in a time of unstable funding. With the improvements to wage scales, raises, and dependent coverage for health insurance, this sets our facility up to be able to recruit and retain staff.” 

The new contracts cover 45 homes, including 27 facilities at providers involved in the new industry-labor partnership between SEIU Healthcare PA and the Pennsylvania Health Care Association. Contract agreement highlights include the following: 

• Across-the-board wage increases for nursing and support staff. 

• Secure retirement plans. 

• Training and education opportunities for skills enhancement, including incentives to achieve certified nursing assistant and licensed practical nurse certifications. 

More than 7,000 union nursing home workers committed at the beginning of the year to use their expiring union contracts at more than 90 homes. According to a release, their goal is to raise care and job standards, protect residents from potential Medicaid cuts, combat instability across the long-term care industry, and fight for greater investment in bedside care. 

“I’m proud of our new contract because it helps us work toward our shared goal of our residents receiving the best care,” said Cheila Martinez, a certified nursing assistant and housekeeper at Spruce Manor in Reading, a Saber-operated facility with one of the labor-industry partnership’s first collective bargaining agreements. “My message to nursing home owners refusing to raise standards is: Our residents deserve a safe, clean, and stable home. We, the workers, need the support to give them the care they deserve.” 

Nursing home worker turnover remains a major challenge. Caregivers cite burnout, poor pay, and short staffing as top reasons for leaving the field. While the commonwealth expects 1 in 3 residents to be over 65 years old by 2030, Pennsylvania has lost 31 nursing homes since 2021, and more closures are expected. 

“These contracts are a critical step forward for workers and for every Pennsylvanian who relies on nursing home care,” said Matthew Yarnell, president of SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania. “The Medicaid cuts make this exact kind of investment more important. Union workers are leading the way in valuing this care and protecting residents, and it’s time for every operator and the commonwealth to follow their lead.”