You Decide

Update: Moving Forward Together

August 17, 2023

Good afternoon.

It has been a little over a week since I sent you a note that the HPAE withdrew its petition. Now that union campaign is over, I am happy to be able to speak to you directly about how we can move forward together to address concerns you and your team members have raised.

I know there are important issues that need to be addressed. Today, the consultants we worked with during the campaign shared a detailed report outlining the issues that you identified over the past several weeks. Our leadership team intends to work on each of the issues identified.

You and team members from your department will be invited to meetings over the next couple of weeks. At the meetings, we will make sure all issues have been identified and then begin to collaborate with you to solve these issues. I encourage you to participate in these meetings to improve your daily work. I look forward to working together to make your Cooper experience the best it can be.

Thank you,

Beth Green, SVP & Chief HR Officer

Update: HPAE Has Withdrawn Their Petition – NO ELECTION

August 8, 2023

Good afternoon.

This morning, we were advised that HPAE has withdrawn their petition to unionize (click here) our Technical team members. Therefore, there will be no election on Wednesday.

We know many of you, like us, are very happy with this turn of events. We also know that some of you will be very upset. We understand. Regardless of what side you were on, it is time for all of us to come together to improve your day-to-day work life so that we can all focus on our mission of serving, healing, and educating our patients.

We want to assure you that we are committed to listening to your concerns, meeting with you, and, where necessary, making changes. We value the great work you do every day for our patients and each other. We are happy that we will be able to continue to work with each of you directly to make things better at Cooper.

We will begin this conversation in coming days.

Thank you,

Beth Green, SVP & Chief HR Officer

Petition Update: Important Meeting, Election Notice, & New Videos

August 4, 2023

Good afternoon.

It’s almost over. I know many of you are tired of hearing about this election, but it is extremely important for you to show up to vote on Wednesday, August 9, or others will decide your daily work life. We have posted the Election Notice here.

On Monday, August 7, please join me in the Conference Center, Room 121, for an important meeting at one of these times 7:15 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 3:00 p.m., or 7:15 p.m. I have been thinking a great deal about this election as well as our slogan One Team. One Purpose. and I want to share some thoughts with you.

No matter how the vote goes next week, we need to come together to care for our patients. Please join me on Monday to hear some final thoughts and enjoy some food.

We have two new videos of your team members. Click here to watch. We will have additional videos in the next few days.

We think the reasons to VOTE NO to representation by the nurses’ union are significant, as outlined on You Decide. Remember, you need to get out to vote. It’s up to you. You Decide.

Thank you,

Beth Green, SVP & Chief HR Officer

Petition Update: Your Team Members Speak, Part 2

August 1, 2023

Good afternoon.

The election is just eight days away. It is extremely important for you to show up to vote.

Remember, the election will be decided by 50% + one of those who actually vote. Since this election will affect your daily work life, you want to make sure your voice is heard.

Today, we have posted two more videos of your team members sharing their thoughts on Cooper and the coming union election. Click here to watch and hear your fellow team members. We will have additional videos in the next few days.

As you make up your mind, we thought it would be important for you to know that your maintenance team members have filed a petition with the NLRB for an election to remove (decertify) their union – this would be a first in Cooper history. After just three years, several maintenance team members have concluded that union representation is not in their best interest. They wish to work directly with Cooper leadership to set their working conditions.

This should give you pause as you think about the coming election. There are many reasons why we believe it is in your best interest to VOTE NO to representation by the nurses’ union, as outlined on You Decide. Remember, you need to get out to vote. It’s up to you. You Decide.

Thank you,

Beth Green, SVP & Chief HR Officer

Petition Update: Who Will Represent You?

July 28, 2023

Good afternoon.

Have you stopped by You Decide to see your team members’ video messages? If not, Click here.

We just posted another flyer you can share with your team members asking this important question: Who will represent you?

Remember to visit You Decide next week for more videos of your team members.

Have a great weekend.

Petition Update: Your Team Members Speak

July 27, 2023

Good afternoon.

Some of our team members are speaking up as they consider whether they want to be represented by the nurses’ union, HPAE. They have volunteered to share their thoughts as this is an important decision that will affect how you work at Cooper.

Several team members have also told us they have been uncomfortable with how aggressive the nurses’ union organizers have been, including visits to your homes. We cannot control the actions of HPAE. We apologize you have been subjected to some of these tactics.

These union tactics raises important questions for all of you to decide: Are these the types of actions you want as a permanent part of your work life at Cooper? Do these nurses’ union tactics feel like our One Team. One Purpose. culture at Cooper?

Today, we have posted two videos of your team members sharing their thoughts on Cooper and the coming union election on You Decide with more coming in the next few days. We hope you will find these videos informative and helpful as you make your decision.

Click here to watch your team members.

Thank you,

Beth Green, SVP & Chief HR Officer

You Decide: The Cost, Part 2 – Dues

July 21, 2023

HPAE – nurses’ union – dues are expensive. Our Nurses paid the HPAE millions of dollars in dues over the years. Here are the totals over the last four years:

Year	Total Dues Deductions	Average Individual Dues Per Year
2019	$1,420,288.61	$1,181.60
2020	$1,452,048.57	$1,019.70
2021	$1,653,113.84	$1,038.39
2022	$1,912,977.49	$1,135.30
Grand Total	$6,438,428.51

Some facts about HPAE dues:

HPAE has collected more in dues from Cooper Nurses each of the last four years.
Despite collecting nearly $500,000 more in dues than four years ago, HPAE has not lowered member dues.
HPAE – the nurses’ union – will receive more dues, from our technical team members if those team members join the union.

What does HPAE do with all that money? What will the nurses’ union do with the additional money collected in dues from Cooper’s technical team members?

Current HPAE dues are 1.25% of team members’ gross income. That includes overtime, bonus, and any other money Cooper pays to you. In essence, the more you work and make, the more they take. Below is a sample of what you might pay in dues at different pay rates and bonuses.

Hourly Rate (FT Annual)	Overtime (25%)	Bonuses/ Incentives	Total	1.25%
$25hr ($52,000)	$13,000	$1,500	$66,500	$831.25
$35hr ($72,800)	$18,200	$1,500	$92,500	$1,156.25
$45hr ($93,600)	$23,400	$1,500	$118,500	$1,481.25

Remember, that’s your hard-earned income.

Ultimately, you decide if paying your hard-earned income in dues will be worth it.

Petition Update: Your Contact Information

July 21, 2023

Good afternoon.

I am writing to inform that we were required by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to give the HPAE, the nurses’ union, your personal contact information as part of the group of team members it is attempting to unionize. We were required to provide your home address, home phone, cell phone and email address.

Once HPAE receives this information, you should expect their representatives to begin visiting your home, calling you, texting you, and sending you emails. We apologize for disclosing this information, but the law requires us to provide the nurses’ union with this information as part of this process.

We value our team members’ privacy and did not wish to provide this information to HPAE, but we are required by law to do so. We wanted you to know. We made a flyer for you to inform others that you can download here.

Please know you have the right to refuse to talk to the union if you so choose. In the long term, if you do not want these intrusions from the nurses’ union to continue, we recommend that you Vote NO on election day.

Please continue to visit You Decide to stay up to date with the latest information. Today, we posted You Decide: The Cost, Part 2 – Dues to give you additional information on what joining a union could cost you. You can also print this post out as a flyer here.

Thank you,

Beth Green, SVP & Chief HR Officer

Petition Update: Election Date Set

July 19, 2023

Good afternoon.

This morning we were notified that the election date is set for you to vote on the nurses’ union, HPAE’s petition to unionize. The election will be held on Wednesday, August 9, 2023, in the hospital Conference Center during the following times:

5:30 a.m. – 9 a.m.
12 p.m. – 2 p.m.
5:50 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Last week, I told you HPAE included the following technical team member titles (including full-time, regular part-time, and per diem at Cooper 1, 2 and 3) in its proposed bargaining unit:

Certified Respiratory Therapist, Radiation Therapist, CT Technologist, Radiology Technologist, Interventional Radiology Technologist, Registered Pulmonary Respiratory Therapist, Mammography Technologist, Registered Respiratory Therapist, MRI Technologist, Respiratory Therapist I, Neuro Radiographer, Respiratory Therapist II, Nuclear Medicine Technologist, Surgical Technologist I, Nuclear Medicine Technologist II, Surgical Technologist II, Perinatal Ultrasonographer, Surgical Technologist III, Pulmonary Technician, Ultrasound Technologist.

On the date and times above, you decide whether you wish to join the nurses’ union, HPAE. Please remember, the election will be decided by 50% plus 1 of those team members who actually vote, not 50% plus one of those eligible to vote. For example, if only 10 team members vote, 6 team members will decide the election. Therefore, it is critical for you to vote to have your voice heard.

Please continue to visit You Decide for important information so you can make an informed decision. Yesterday, we added information on the cost of unionization to you. Click here to read You Decide: The Cost.

Thank you,

Beth Green, SVP & Chief HR Officer

You Decide: The Cost

July 18, 2023

We all know the saying, “there’s no free lunch.” This maxim holds true when it comes to representation by organized labor – a union.

Labor unions are a business and need to make money to stay in business. That means you must pay dues to the union out of your hard-earned salary to support all union activities.

Everything has a cost. Union representation will have financial cost to you in the form of dues. Unions will promise you that joining them is worth the cost of the dues, but they cannot guarantee it.

Remember, Cooper is a not-for-profit health system. The money Cooper makes, therefore, does not go to shareholders.

The money Cooper makes is invested right back into the health system to meet growing patient demand, improve facilities, improve patient care for the communities we serve, and pay team members. Cooper has managed its finances well. During the pandemic, Cooper did not layoff team members and continued to provide full benefits, paid hero bonuses, and paid annual merit increases. Few other health systems did so.

Cooper also continually researches the local market to ensure it is paying its team members at market rates for various positions. When conditions change, Cooper makes market adjustments for its team members. In fact, in the past two years team members have received market adjustments in their pay that have totaled more than $9 million to meet changing conditions.

No health system can afford to pay far above the market rate for a specific position – whether or not those team members are represented by a union. That’s just reality.

There is one thing for certain with union representation – you must pay dues out of your take home pay.

Just remember the wise maxim: There’s no free lunch.

You Decide: is the cost worth it.