Health Professionals and Allied Employees
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| Full name | Health Professionals and Allied Employees |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1975 |
| Members | 13,000 |
| Affiliation | AFT, AFL-CIO |
| Key people | Ann Twomey, president |
| Office location | Emerson, New Jersey |
| Country | United States |
| Website | www.hpae.org |
The Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE) is a health care labor union in New Jersey and Pennsylvania that represents registered nurses and other health care workers in hospitals, nursing homes, blood banks and clinics in the public and private sector. It is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), AFL-CIO.
HPAE's precursor union, the Englewood Hospital Nurses Association, was formed in 1974 when Ann Twomey, a registered nurse, organized an independent nurses union at Englewood Hospital in Englewood, New Jersey. Shift rotation, floating, low wages and a general lack of respect from management drove Twomey and the other Englewood nurses to organize at a time when federal labor law had only just begun to recognize the union rights of registered nurses.
Englewood's management repeatedly tried to break the union. In July 1976, the hospital suspend Twomey for refusing to wear a nurse's cap. Twomey pointed out that men were not required to wear one. On October 12, 1976, the Englewood nurses successfully struck for six days over staffing, training, rotating shifts and non-nursing duties assigned to nurses.
In 1977, nurses at Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood, New Jersey, formed a union with the assistance of the union at Englewood Hospital. But the hospital refused to recognize the union, and a 41-day strike ensued. The union won recognition as well as markedly higher wages. The union won an election at Lakeview Convalescent Center, a nursing home, the same year.
As the union expanded into non-hospital settings and non-nursing occupations, the organization recognized the need to expand its jurisdiction. So in 1978 the unions formed a statewide group, the Hospital Professionals and Allied Employees. Twomey was elected its president.
In 1979, registered nurses at newly built Palisades General Hospital in North Bergen, New Jersey, formed a union and joined HPAE.
But on September 25, 1979, the union struck Pascack Valley Hospital over wages and floating of nurses to units where they had no experience or training. The successful strike lasted 70 days.
The union organized its second nursing home, Llanfair House, in 1980.
On September 1, 1980—Labor Day—HPAE struck Englewood Hospital. Once more, the issues revolved around wages and floating. The strike lasted 98 days, and for more than two decades remained the longest strike in New Jersey history.
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