PITTSBURGH — A group of employees from the Sherwood Oaks senior living facility in Cranberry Township held a rally and delivered a letter Monday morning to the UPMC CEO.

About 50 employees, who belong to the SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania union, held a rally and marched with signs to the UPMC Tower at 600 Grant St.

The Sherwood Oaks employees were joined by UPMC employees from other Pittsburgh-area facilities, though the letter specifically addressed contract negotiations for the Cranberry Township facility.

The union workers are not on strike, but held the rally to garner public support for their effort to get higher pay in a new contract with the health care provider.

They wanted to enter the building and deliver a letter to CEO Jeffrey Romoff, though they were not allowed in, said certified nurse’s aide Donna Hoge, who was there.

Hoge, who has worked at Sherwood Oaks for 10 years, said a security guard would not permit the group to enter the building, but he did take the letter.

According to Hoge, other facilities in the area pay employees an average of about $2 an hour more, but she said she is dedicated to her job and the residents at Sherwood Oaks.

“They become your family. You take care of them like you would take care of your mother or your grandmother. It’s really hard to go in and say, ‘I’m quitting,’” she said.

The letter calls management decisions of the nonprofit organization into question.

“Over the past three years we have watched as UPMC has increased fees to the residents and brought in over one million dollars in profits,” the letter states.

“Instead of using that money to invest in the strength and health of our community, UPMC has used it to lease private jets and make millionaires out of executives while those of us who care for our most cherished and vulnerable are struggling to pay for gas in our cars.”

The union includes licensed practical nurses, nurses’ aides, dietary aides, housekeepers and maintenance workers. There are about 150 union members at Sherwood Oaks.

Gloria Kreps, a UPMC spokesman said, “We believe that we offer competitive wages and benefits and we are continuing to talk in good faith.”

A group of Sherwood Oaks employees on Aug. 19 also had an informational picket on Rochester Road in Cranberry.