Forum chief: New pacts must be complete today

If not, Walter Pishkur is

prepared to ask bankruptcy court to intervene.

By DON SHILLING

VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR

HOWLAND — An executive said union complaints about executive bonuses at Forum Health are distractions as contract negotiations come down to their final day.

Walter Pishkur, Forum president and chief executive, said negotiations should be more focused because he is prepared to seek bankruptcy court approval to reject union contracts if new agreements aren’t reached today.

At a news conference Thursday at Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital, Pishkur said action is needed because Forum has four months to develop a plan to emerge from bankruptcy court.

He said he was upset that the Service Employees International Union issued a press release this week on the bonuses. The union said it offered to make $2 million in additional concessions but objected to further cuts after learning of the bonuses.

Becky Williams, SEIU Local 1199 president, said bonuses for five executives ranged from $25,000 to $50,000, which she called excessive.

“Non-union and executive employees should share in the same sacrifices made by the employees in the hospital system,” she said.

Pishkur said non-union employees are sacrificing as well. They have given up their 401(k) matches and are paying more for health-care insurance, he said.

Pishkur said the bonuses have no place in contract negotiations because all of them, except for his, were put in place in 2006 and 2007. At that time, Forum was planning to sell all of its operations, so it offered key executives extra pay to stay through the process, he said.

He said he considered that sound business judgment based on the company’s plans then.

Pishkur said he considers his bonus justified because it was part of the compensation package that was negotiated when he left his position at Aqua Ohio last year to take over the top job at Forum.

He also noted that the union listed Lowell Johnson, who had been interim CEO, as having a salary of $750,000. Pishkur said Johnson received half that amount because he was replaced before his contract expired.

Pishkur said the two sides need to focus on the future so they can cut costs and make the system viable.

“This isn’t a vendetta against the employees. It’s just the opposite. If we don’t act, we will have done them a disservice,” he said.

If no agreement is reached, Forum will ask the court to reject its union contracts, he said. If the contracts are rejected, the two sides can be given time to negotiate or the judge can impose terms.

Pishkur didn’t say when Forum would take the matter before the judge, but the union said it was told Forum could go to court as early as Monday.

The future of Northside Medical Center, which has been losing money, is directly tied to reducing labor costs, Pishkur said.

Forum soon will file a plan to close the hospital, but Pishkur stressed that it will be a contingency plan that he hopes he doesn’t have to use.

The company has until Sept. 15 to file its reorganization plan with the court, and Pishkur said he hopes it will include Northside, Trumbull Memorial Hospital and Hillside.

He said he was encouraged that all three hospitals made money in April, which was the first time that has happened in more than two years.

Pishkur said Forum also plans to build its revenues with more satellite facilities.

It plans to open physician offices in Newton Falls in July and in Hubbard in August. Both of those offices will have extended hours so they can act as an urgent care facilities for people who aren’t regular patients. Forum also plans to open a facility in Boardman next year but hasn’t disclosed what type of care will be provided.

shilling@vindy.com