Forum, SEIU agree on new Northside pact

YOUNGSTOWN — Forum Health and service workers at Northside Medical Center have reached tentative agreement on a new contract that provides for an additional $5 million in concessions.

An evidentiary hearing in federal Bankuptcy Court on Forum’s motion to reject the service workers current contract, scheduled for Monday has been delayed pending ratification of the tentative agreement.

The Forum Health Board of Trustees was expected to vote today on the agreement, and Service Employees International Union District 1199, which represents some 1,200 employees at Northside, has scheduled a contract vote from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, a union spokesman said.

Among the concessions agreed to by SEIU at Northside Hospital are wage freezes, increased contributions to health insurance and stopping 401k contributions made by the employer.

The tentative agreement at Northside Hospital amounts to $5million in concessions per year. Previously, a tentative agreement was reached for Trumbull Memorial that will save the hospital system more than $500,000 in 2009 and an additional $900,000 in 2010. In total, Forum Health employees represented by District 1199 have agreed to $6 million in concessions per year, the union said.