Geisinger touts latest contract proposal to Wyoming Valley nurses, but union unconvinced

Geisinger promoted its latest contract proposal to Wyoming Valley nurses in a release issued Tuesday, but union officials said it will take more negotiating to reach a deal.

Geisinger’s pitch (see more at the end of this story) details wage increases, pay scales, health insurance plans that Geisinger would pay 80% towards and contributions to employees’ retirement plans.

The proposal comes after the nurses’ five-day strike in February and the latest negotiating sessions on March 25 and 26. The union recently voted to authorize a second strike “if necessary.”

“Registered nurses are critical to the care we provide in Luzerne County and every community we serve,” said Brion Lieberman, Geisinger’s chief human resources officer. “Geisinger has served Northeastern Pennsylvania for more than 40 years. To continue that commitment for the next 40 years and beyond, our employee benefits must be competitive, comprehensive and sustainable. We are committed to remaining a top place to work for all health care workers in the region.”

The union is unhappy with the proposal, saying Geisinger is still not budging on their priorities of pay, health insurance and workplace safety. They say Geisinger is far below the market average, despite the proposal's wage increase.

“We are all in agreement that it will take a large wage increase in year one for Geisinger to catch up to the market given how far behind they are,” said Kaitlyn Boyce, a registered nurse at Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre and a member of the nurses’ bargaining team. “What they have offered to date would catch some — but not all — nurses up to the level that they pay in one of their small community hospitals. But we’re not a small community hospital. We represent a level one trauma center, and we need Geisinger to come to the table, get serious about the core concerns that nurses have and address its nurse vacancy rate, which is three times higher than the national average.”

Union members expressed frustration with the high pay for travel nurses compared to what permanent nurses are paid.

“Right now, Geisinger is paying its out-of-town nurses about double what it pays its local nursing staff, which is why they have 300 nurse positions unfilled,” Boyce said. “We want to see our communities respected, and we want Geisinger to make a commitment to end its over-reliance on out-of-town and temporary nurses in our facilities.”

Healthcare costs have been a key issue for the union. They want Geisinger to include explicit protections against cost hikes.

“We want our employer, who is also our insurance company, to provide us some security that they won’t simply take all of our wage increase right back in the form of higher healthcare costs, which is exactly what has happened previously,” Boyce said. “In the past two years alone, Geisinger has increased our health care costs by 38%. They have so far refused to agree to any language that would protect us from a similar increase in the future.”

The 800 union nurses from Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre and Geisinger Healthplex CenterPoint are are represented by Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare PA. Their previous contract expired on Jan. 31, despite negotiations starting in November.

Union members said they need their priorities better represented to reach a deal.

“If Geisinger would provide some assurances on these issues, stop its attempts to take away paid time off for nurses, and be willing to work with us to improve hospital safety, we would likely have already found a way forward to reaching an agreement,” Boyce said. “It is their refusal to move on these key issues that has kept the parties apart.”