Unionized Nurses Elect First Negotiating Committee at Inspira-Woodbury

Friday, November 14, 2014

After voting to unionize in October with the Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE), Registered Nurses at Inspira Medical Center-Woodbury elected a negotiating committee of 20 RNs to bargain a first collective bargaining agreement with hospital administration.

Electing a negotiating committee is the first step in the union’s process of reaching a collective bargaining agreement with the hospital.

“Being elected to represent the nurses gives us the responsibility to address the concerns we raised during the organizing of our union,” said Sue Davis, RN and elected member of HPAE Local 5621 Negotiating Committee. “ Winning the vote to unionize was just the first step – winning a first contract that includes safe staffing for patient care and workplace standards for RNs is now our priority.”

The negotiating committee will be charged with surveying the membership and developing a set of proposals for bargaining with hospital administration. The newly formed HPAE local of 420 RNs also said that they hope to begin bargaining with the hospital in January and that they intend to communicate with the public during the process, so that patient care issues are always a priority.

Nurses at the former Underwood Hospital held an election on October 1st to unionize by a margin of 6 to 1 and the National Labor Relations Board officially certified the nurses union, HPAE Local 5621 on October 10. HPAE is NJ’s largest union of nurses and health care workers, with 12,000 members at 13 hospitals, and nursing homes, home care agencies and Rutgers University.

For more information, contact Bridget Devane, (732) 996-5493.