Northampton County union members get new contract and avoid strike

SEIU Healthcare flags fly as protesters stand outside the Slate Belt Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Bangor on Friday, June 1, 2018. Ohio-based Saber Healthcare Group purchased the Slate Belt Nursing & Rehabilitation Center from Oak Health LLC earlier this year and refused to honor the workers’ collective bargaining agreement, instead enforcing immediate health care cost increases and wage freezes.

Northampton County Human Services has ratified a new three-year contract, averting a possible strike.

About 80 percent of workers voted for the contract, said Kezzy Johnson, a social worker and works council member for SEIU Local 668. A total of 120 union members had planned a strike for Friday to address issues such as wages, hiring and retention of employees.

But District Administrator Lamont G. McClure reported for the first time Friday afternoon that an agreement had been ratified.

The new pact calls for annual cost-of-living increases of 5%, McClure said, as well as increased health benefits of 0.25% for workers with HSA accounts and 0.5% for workers with PPO plans.

“We’re glad they ratified the contract,” McClure said, adding that workers voted on the proposal on Thursday and Friday. “It was more than fair.”

The union opposed the increase in health care costs as well as the district’s decision to pay one-time bonuses instead of permanent wage increases, Johnson said.

According to Johnson, workers voted for a union strike on May 23 after months of negotiations. Johnson publicly advocated for the new contract and better anti-turnover measures at the County Council meeting on June 6. Union members also passed a petition in April asking the council to urge the county to return to the bargaining table and negotiate a deal that satisfies workers, many of whom are part of the county’s Department of Children, Youth and Families.

“We still have a lot of work to do to raise wages to a level where we are 100 percent competitive with other agencies,” Johnson said. “We believe this is a start to attracting more new employees and keeping our employees here.”

McClure expressed his satisfaction that staff will “continue to work without interruption to ensure the safety of our children and seniors,” he said.

The union represents employees involved with some of the most important social services, including Child, Youth and Family Services and the Area Agency on Aging. In addition to social workers, employees also work as office clerks, case workers and in other roles.

The district’s unions are involved in ten collective agreements that represent an unspecified number of the district’s 1,700 employees.

Morning Call reporter Anthony Salamone can be reached at [email protected].