SEIU at Forum Health is OK with pension plan transfer

YOUNGSTOWN — A Service Employees International Union spokesman says his members don’t oppose having their pension plan transferred from Forum Health to the federal government.

It’s not one of the issues where Forum and the union are at odds, said Rob Johnson, hospital division director for the union’s District 1199.

Johnson spoke during a conference call Tuesday in the wake of Forum filing a motion last week asking the bankruptcy court to relieve the health system of financial responsibility for the pension plan and place it under the auspices of the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp.

District 1199 represents some 1,300 Forum employees, including about 680 at Northside Medical Center.

Forum’s motion in bankruptcy court, which Johnson said “shocked” the union, said immediate relief from the pension plan is critical to the hospital system’s survival.

The motion asking the court to intervene was needed because Forum has no new formal agreements with SEIU or the Youngstown General Duty Nurses Association/Ohio Nurses Association, leaving contracts in place that say Forum must provide a pension plan, said Walter Pishkur, Forum president and chief executive officer.

Pishkur has said Friday’s action was necessitated by the extended contract negotiations with District 1199 and the nurses’ union, both of which represent employees at Northside. “We filed the motion because it was critical to move forward quickly,” he said.

The pension plan covers about 7,132 working and retired employees.

Read more in Wednesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com