Here are three things to know about the contract negotiations.
1. Members of the Crozer-Chester Nurses Association said at the core of their battle with Springfield, Pa.-based Crozer-Keystone Health System is safe staffing, according to the report. However, the report notes, system representatives have stood behind their staffing levels, saying they are safe and meet standards set by the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators.
2. Crozer officials have said issues at the bargaining table are financial. A statement released by Grant Gegwich, Crozer-Keystone vice president of public relations and marketing, reads, “Under our current proposals, nurses now employed at the medical center — who average more than $106,000 per year for full-time work — will keep their rates. We remain willing to bargain in good faith to reach agreement on a contract that is economically viable,” according to the report.Officials from the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, parent union of the Crozer-Chester Nurses Association, have claimed that figure is misleading.
3. Both sides have been negotiating for about a year. The contract expired June 8 and a two-day strike occurred in September.
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