HPAE Local 5105 Nurses win Historic Labor Agreement to Give Burlington County Patients Access to Safe Staffing

EMERSON — HPAE Virtua-Mount Holly Nurses have reached an agreement with Virtua Health on a new contract that includes the strongest enforceable staffing language ever achieved in an HPAE contract—an important step forward in protecting patient care.

The new contract also includes better pay and enhanced workplace violence prevention measures, which should help retain nurses at the bedside.

HPAE Local 5105 President Sheryl Mount, RN, attributed the victory to her local’s 800 nurses for their resolve and tenacity as they demanded greater protections throughout negotiations, including authorizing a strike by a historic margin if necessary.

“The unity and determination shown by our members gave us the power to achieve this historic win,” Mount said. “The safe staffing ratios set in this contract will now give patients the option of choosing a hospital with safe staffing in Burlington County. This is what our patients deserve.”

HPAE President Debbie White, RN, said that Local 5105 contract joins the 13 other HPAE contracts settled since 2024 that have become a blueprint for a statewide nurse-to-patient ratio law.

“Research shows that without nurse-to-patient ratios, nurses are distracted, overwhelmed, and stressed,” White said.  “Patients come to hospitals for 24-hour nursing care and they deserve nurses who are available to meet their needs. That is what we are achieving in hospitals where we represent the staff, and that is what we feel every patient in New Jersey deserves.”

HPAE Local 5105’s more than 800 Registered Nurses will vote on whether to ratify the contract this week. Details of the agreement will be available at member meetings on Tuesday, June 16.

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

# # #

HPAE is the largest union of registered nurses and health care professionals in New Jersey. Since its founding by Englewood Hospital nurses in 1974, HPAE has expanded across the state and into Southeastern Pennsylvania representing more than 15,000 nurses, social workers, therapists, technicians, medical researchers, and other health care professionals in hospitals, nursing homes, home care agencies, blood banks, and university research facilities. HPAE is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO.