Laurel: To getting it done. It wasn’t easy, but, with just days to spare, Westmoreland County avoided a strike by 500 unionized courthouse and nursing home employees.
Service Employees International Union Local 668 and Healthcare PA members voted to accept a three-year deal that will include raises totaling about 17% over the life of the contract.
Workers have been without a contract since the end of December. The union members include a number of the most understaffed areas of the county workforce, including nursing home employees, 911 dispatchers, caseworkers and detention and shelter workers. A strike had been authorized.
This contract follows agreements recently inked with jail workers and attorneys for both prosecution and public defense.
The greatest issue for many employment areas in the county has been the difficulty in hiring people to fill the jobs. With the contract resolved, the county needs to turn its attention to attracting talent and becoming the kind of workplace where people want to stay.
Lance: To shrugging off problems. On Sunday, a homeless encampment on the Mon Wharf was wiped out by flooding, with one person requiring rescue. Three people were relocated to shelters, while officials said others found their own alternatives.
“These are people who are choosing to live outside. They won’t necessarily take shelter,” said Pittsburgh Assistant Public Safety Director Camila Alarcon-Chelecki.
This kind of statement avoids responsibility.
It isn’t the City of Pittsburgh’s fault there is homelessness any more than it is the city’s fault snow falls. However, it still is the city’s responsibility to address and mitigate homelessness just as it is the city’s responsibility to plow snow-covered roads.
Reducing a complex problem such as homelessness to a lifestyle choice rather than the collision of economic, social, medical and mental health issues does a disservice to the community and is a bad look for the administration.
