Virtua Health nurses approve contract in a second vote, but the union remains divided

Nurses at Virtua Health approved a new contract Thursday, less than two weeks after the union’s membership rejected the same offer in a vote marked by low turnout.

The three-year contract will cover close to 1,700 nurses, most of whom work at Voorhees Hospital in Camden County and Marlton Hospital in Burlington County. The nurses are represented by JNESO, an AFL-CIO affiliate that represents roughly 5,000 nurses and health-care techs in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The nurses had narrowly rejected the same proposal on March 4, when only about 300 nurses voted. Following calls from Virtua to hold another vote, and a series of union meetings, JNESO announced a second vote.

The union informed the nurses about the result in a Thursday night email that did not include vote tallies, according to a copy obtained by The Inquirer.

“The members have spoken!” the email said.

» READ MORE: Virtua union with 1,700 nurses will take a second vote on rejected contract

JNESO declined to share details about the turnout or margin for the second vote.

“We are extremely proud of our nurses and will continue to fight for what they need to provide the best possible care to their patients,” said Douglas Placa, executive director of JNESO, in a statement.

Virtua said it was pleased the nurses approved the contract.

“We are fortunate to have so many dedicated, compassionate, and talented nurses at our hospitals and across the health system,” Rhonda Jordan, Virtua’s chief human resources officer said in a statement.

The new contract includes wage increases, but the union did not succeed in securing an increase to pension contributions, a draft obtained by The Inquirer showed.

The nurses’ previous contract expired on Feb. 28.

Nurses remain divided over the contract, even after the successful vote. Several nurses told The Inquirer they felt the union capitulated to the hospital’s demands.

Tensions have been building in the last two weeks, after JNESO and Virtua reached a tentative agreement for a new three-year contract in late February.

Following the failed first vote, Virtua sent two e-mails to nurses asking for a second vote. This prompted JNESO to file an unfair labor practices complaint against Virtua for attempting to “dictate internal business to the union,” a reference to the e-mails sent by the health system to nurses, according to an email obtained by The Inquirer. A complaint was filed on March 13, according to the National Labor Review Board’s website.

» READ MORE: Virtua Health union of 1,700 nurses rejects contract offer

During closed-door union membership meetings Tuesday, nurses complained about lack of transparency in the union’s handling of the negotiations and contract vote, and Virtua’s resistance to offer a better contract.

Nurses on the union’s private Facebook page also expressed outrage Thursday night over the process that led to the second vote, lack of information, and the outcome.

“If we can’t trust our union, who the hell can we trust?,” one nurse commented on the page, according to screenshots of messages obtained by The Inquirer.

“I say revote!!!!” wrote another.