POTTSTOWN, PA — Hundreds of nurses picketed outside of Pottstown Hospital on Wednesday as they said the hospital's owners, Tower's Health, have tried to lowball them in their contract talks and have spent hundreds of thousands in an attempt to bust their union.
The Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) says they've been attempting to negotiate more staffing, as nurses currently care for a massive number of patients, impacting the quality of care they can provide.
Nurses at Pottstown also say they're underpaid significantly compared to all other nurses in the Tower system. Pottstown nurses were also offered lower wages than other Tower system nurses, who received an average of 3.25 percent increase in May. Tower says they've offered a 2.25 percent raise, while the union says the offer is a 1 percent raise.
“I was a nurse at Brandywine Hospital for almost 20 years before coming here to Pottstown,” RN Jennifer Riley, a nurse at Pottstown Hospital’s Center for Behavioral Medicine, told Patch. “Tower Health closed Brandywine, and I came here. I supported Tower Health through the closure and stayed with Tower Health afterward. I’m just asking Tower to return that support.”
According to the union, Tower spent at least $400,000 on union-busting consultants at both Pottstown Hospital and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children over a four-month period in 2023 and 2024.
These consultants were paid somewhere between $2,500 and $3,500 per day, the union said.
Tower Health said there were "inaccuracies" in information shared by the union publicly, but did not specify what they took issue with.
"We have been negotiating in good faith with PASNAP since November and remain committed to constructive dialogue to reach a fair contract," a spokesperson for Tower Health told Patch. "We want to assure our patients and the public that all hospital operations will continue without disruption as we stay focused on providing high-quality care to the community."
Officials have also condemned Tower for violations of its nonprofit status, which brought it under investigation by the PA Attorney General's Office. Tower successfully fought those claims to keep its nonprofit designation.
PASNAP says that Tower's refusal to pay taxes costs the Pottstown School District about $1 million, and that the nurses union provides more money to the school's budget than Tower itself.
Montgomery County Commissioner Jamila Winder condemned Tower's behavior in the negotiations and in the community.
"Tower Health has offered them (the nurses) a below-inflation wage proposal and refused to commit to the very staffing standards that ensure patients receive safe, quality care," she wrote in a recent open letter. "In a system that has posted eight straight quarters of profit—and has awarded executive bonuses in the hundreds of thousands of dollars—this is unacceptable."
While the hospital suffers from staffing shortages and professionals receive low wages, officials pointed to the outlandish salaries earned by Tower's executives and former executives: in 2023 alone, former President Clint Matthews was paid $1.4 million, former EVP Therese Sucher was paid $1.8 million, former CEOs John Cacciamani and Stephen Tullman were paid around $500,000, and former Treasurer Sean O’Connell and former EVP Gary Conner were paid around $100,000.
The nurses picket outside Pottstown Hospital lasted for several hours Wednesday morning, and concluded with a community rally at noon.