Jefferson Bucks Hospital Nurses File For Union Election

The nurses at Jefferson Bucks Hospital in Falls Township have filed for union elections and are raising concerns about “worsening working conditions.”

Alongside colleagues at Einstein Center One and Jefferson Health Willowcrest in Philadelphia, the local nurses have submitted filings to join the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP).

“We’re organizing because Jefferson Bucks nurses are being asked every day to do more with less and less, and it’s getting harder and harder to feel like our concerns are actually being heard,” said Ashley Bupp, an emergency room nurse at Jefferson Bucks Hospital. “We’re dealing with understaffing, heavier workloads, and equipment and resources that don’t always work when we need them.”

The nurses at Jefferson Bucks Hospital would form an independent local unit within the union.

Nurses at Lower Bucks Hospital in Bristol Township and St. Mary Medical Center in Middletown Township are already represented by PASNAP.

“PASNAP has once again relied on a predictable campaign of misleading claims and public attacks designed to generate headlines rather than constructive solutions. While PASNAP focuses on promoting a narrative that serves its organizing efforts and ultimately, its own bottom line, Jefferson remains focused on supporting our nurses, caring for our patients, and meeting the health care needs of the communities we serve,” a Jefferson Health spokesperson said.

The unionization push comes amid expansion and financial challenges for Jefferson Health. The Philadelphia-based health system has recently completed mergers with the Einstein Healthcare Network and the Lehigh Valley Health Network.

Jefferson Health reported an operational loss of $181.5 million in the last fiscal year and has laid off hundreds of workers, according to reporting by The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Union officials allege that despite these cutbacks, Jefferson Health continues to spend on system expansion, marketing, and anti-union consulting services.

Labor representatives stated the health system spent over $500,000 on a firm specializing in union prevention in 2021 and has re-hired the firm amid the current organizing effort.

Bupp criticized the system’s spending priorities.

“A lot of decisions seem to be made around cutting costs without thinking about what that means for the nurses on the floor, our patients, or the community we take care of,” Bupp said. “Instead of listening to us and fixing these issues, management is putting time and resources into trying to stop us from unionizing. If anything, that has made it even clearer why we need a voice in these decisions.”

Hospital staff looking to unionize said recent contract wins have served as a catalyst for the local effort.

“We were watching the negotiations at Einstein very closely. We saw what a great contract they had already, and the fact that they were able to stand together and win improvements, and protect what they already had,” said Kiersten McCalmant, a nurse at Jefferson Bucks Hospital. “It was definitely an energizing factor for us. We thought, if nurses at Einstein can bargain with Jefferson and be successful, why can’t we?”

PASNAP leadership asked the hospital system to allow the organizing effort to proceed without corporate resistance.

“PASNAP is proud to support the nurses at Jefferson Bucks Hospital and Einstein Center One. We are calling on Jefferson Health to respect the rights of nurses and other healthcare workers to organize, and to stop wasting patient care dollars on union busters,” said Maureen May, PASNAP president and a mother-baby nurse at Temple University Hospital. “We also want to tell Jefferson, don’t be afraid of your nurses organizing and having a voice. It’s good for nurses, it’s good for patient care, and it’s good for the hospital.”

Nurses from Jefferson Bucks Hospital are scheduled to hold a press conference next week to speaking on their decision to organize.

UPDATE: This article has been updated with comment from Jefferson Health.