Pay for Pishkur produces protests

By Don Shilling

Objections are expected to be filed in court over his proposed pay.

YOUNGSTOWN — Forum Health will be in bankruptcy court Tuesday for permission to keep using its cash on hand, but union officials hope to prevent that money from being paid to a former chief executive.

Officials from two unions say they expect objections to be filed in opposition to Walter “Buzz” Pishkur being paid up to $9,000 a week as a consultant.

Lawyers from the American Federation of County, State and Municipal Employees are researching how the union can try to stop the pay proposal for Pishkur, said Tom Connelly, president of Local 2026, which represents 400 nurses at Trumbull Memorial Hospital.

A coalition of groups may join together to fight the plan, he added.

Rob Johnson, hospital division director for the Service Employees International Union, said he couldn’t comment on that union’s legal plans but he said he expected objections to be filed by some parties in the case. The union represents 1,100 technical and professional workers at TMH and Northside Medical Center.

Union leaders are upset because Forum has demanded contract concessions in recent years.

The hearing before Judge Kay Woods in U.S. Bankruptcy Court is crucial for Forum, which has said it will be forced to shut down its operations unless it can continue to use the cash that is generated by its health-care operations. Forum filed for bankruptcy protection in March.

On Sept. 22, Judge Woods gave approval for Forum to continue to spend its cash on hand, pending the Tuesday hearing.

Also last month, Forum and its lenders agreed to work on a joint reorganization plan for the company after Pishkur agreed to step down as CEO. The lenders wanted someone with more health-care experience to run the system.

Connelly said union officials remain in the dark about progress on the reorganization plan, but they believe there are organizations interested in buying all or part of Forum, which also includes Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital in Howland.

Connelly said he had a brief meeting in a hallway Thursday with Charles Neumann, whom Forum has proposed to replace Pishkur as interim CEO. He most recently had the same position at a medical center in Savannah, Ga.

Neumann told Connelly the two would have more detailed discussions if the judge approves his appointment.

Connelly and Johnson from the SEIU declined to comment on the pay package for Neumann, who works for a Baltimore consulting firm. FTI Consulting would be paid $75,000 a month.

Connelly noted, however, that adding Pishkur’s proposed pay of $9,000 a week to FTI’s compensation would mean that Forum is paying more than $100,000 a month on consulting services.

“It’s just ridiculous,” he said.

Johnson said he hopes employees and others in the community will find a way to express their concerns about Pishkur’s pay to the Forum board of directors. Forum is proposing to pay Pishkur until May 31.

shilling@vindy.com