PLAINS TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Hundreds of local nurses were just hours away from going on strike. They will hit the picket lines in their fight for a new contract.
They came together Sunday afternoon to prepare for the strike.
Nurses at several Geisinger facilities are one step closer to walking off the job.
Some of them met this afternoon to prepare for their strike.
More than a dozen Geisinger Wyoming Valley nurses gathered inside a room at the Holiday Inn in Plains Township late Sunday afternoon.
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They prepared signs for a five-day strike that begins early Monday morning.
Failed negotiations between Geisinger and the nurses' SEIU union over the past several months have resulted in 800 nurses ready to take to the streets to demand change.
At the top of the list: Higher pay, affordable health care, and safe staffing.
One nurse at today's pre-strike event tells 28/22 news they must come together.
A Geisinger spokesperson provided a statement to 28/22 News regarding the strike:
Geisinger is hoping to continue bargaining with SEIU in good-faith negotiations to reach a mutually agreeable labor contract. We are committed to reaching an agreement and hope that SEIU will return to the negotiating table. Our registered nurses are critical to the delivery of care at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre and Geisinger Healthplex CenterPoint, and we want them at the bedside on Monday. Since SEIU has expressed its intent to strike, we are activating our contingency plan to ensure these critical health care facilities remain open to deliver high-quality care to everyone in need regardless of any labor actions.
Geisinger Media Relations Specialist Matt Mattei
"We are bonding in there. We are trying to make the best of our time that we have, but it is also on the sad point that we have to stand outside our work environment for five days. We need to stand united," Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre Nurse Kaitlyn Boyce said.
Nurses are set to begin striking Monday morning and will be held daily through Friday from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.
