Virtua Hospital Members Hit Pause on Strike

HPAE LOCAL 5105 NURSES HIT “PAUSE” ON LABOR ACTION; WILL GO ON STRIKE  JUNE 23RD IF PROGRESS IS NOT SUSTAINED

HPAE Local 5105 members have made some progress in bargaining with Virtua management since handing in a 10-day strike notice last week. After meeting with the employer, the bargaining committee made a decision to delay the strike fand go back to the table tomorrow.

However, if the employer does not continue to make progress, the strike will be rescheduled for the following week.  “Nurses will no longer tolerate the status quo and are willing to do whatever it takes to make their hospitals safer and more competitive, including participating in a strike,” said Debbie White, President of HPAE.

Nurses are looking to ensure their hospital, Virtua Memorial, is competitive with nearby Cooper University Health Care, whose nurses are also represented by HPAE. In 2024, HPAE Local 5118 at Cooper negotiated safe staffing ratios and wage increases that have become talking points in Cooper’s recruitment efforts.

Click here to review a list of current HPAE contracts’ staffing ratios.

“Nurses would prefer to be at the bedside caring for patients, instead of being on picket lines,” HPAE Local 5105 President Sheryl Mount said. “So if Virtua doesn’t deliver, 800 nurses will be on the picket line for a new strike date of June 23rd,” she added.

For more information on the decades of studies that have been conducted to show that Safe Staffing Saves Lives, please click here to learn more.

For more information, contact: Michael Allen, (646) 436-7556.

www.hpae.org • www.facebook.com/hpae.aft • @hpaeaft • @hpae_aft