Striking Delco hospital workers clash with officials ahead of Friday return

The 370 nurses and technicians who staged a two-day strike at Delaware County Memorial Hospital say they are set to return to work Friday, but will continue to push for better staffing levels and a new contract.

The two side are set to return to the bargaining table on March 14.

The two-day strike at the Drexel Hill, Pa., hospital was held March 5 and 6.

Prospect Medical Holdings, which acquired Delaware Couty Memorial when it purchased the Crozer-Keystone Health System last summer, said because of the strike they had to bring in replacement workers from staffing agencies under five-day contracts at a cost of $1.5 million. That meant the striking workers could not return until March 10.

The nurses and their union, the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP), called the action a “lock out.” Hospital officials, in a statement, said “under federal labor law, even after strikers have offered to return to work, there may be a delay in their return if a staffing agency has imposed a minimum as is the case here. The National Labor Relations Board does not consider such a delay in return to work to be a lockout.”

The nurses and technicians stayed on a picket line after their offer to return to work was rebuffed because of the contract with the agency workers. Angela Neopolitano, a 36-year registered nurse and president of the union at Delaware County Memorial, said they received community support.

“We had firefighters bringing us coffee,” she said. “We had former patients and retired coworkers picking up signs and marching with us. We had Democratic and Republican elected leaders standing with us outside of the hospital.”

Bill Cruice, PASNAP’s executive director, said the hospital continues to refuse to negotiate over staffing. “This behavior is very troubling, especially since Prospect bought the hospital pledging to make improvements,” Cruice said.

Hospitals officials have stated it staffs at the national average, and its nursing leaders check staffing levels four times a day to ensure appropriate staffing. Representatives also said there have been no changes in how staffing is done at Delaware County Memorial since Prospect purchased Crozer-Keystone.

Delaware County Memorial released a statement Thursday afternoon saying, "We look forward to welcoming our PASNAP nurses and techs back to work on Friday morning. We are thankful for the physicians and employees of Delaware County Memorial Hospital and the entire Crozer-Keystone Health System who helped to ensure that we continued to provide excellent care for our community throughout the five-day strike."

When the nurses and technicians return to work Friday at 6:30 a.m., they plan to march into the hospital together.

“This strike and lockout have brought us together even more,” said Ann Niklauski, a registered nurse of 22 years who works in the hospital’s peri-anesthesia Care Unit. “We’re more united than ever.”

PASNAP said Prospect and Delaware County Memorial management have agreed to return to negotiations with the nurses and technicians on March 14.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal