New Jersey Treatment Center Unionized

August 3, 2016 
By Stephanie West

Lafayette, N.J. – The 125 employees of Sunrise House in Lafayette, New Jersey  have voted  5-to-1 to unionize, and   NLRB has certified the union.

Employees at Sunrise House  joined the Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE) union and negotiations are planned with the clinics parent company American Addiction Centers (AAC). High on the list of concerns besides salaries include working conditions, staffing levels and clinical supervision. Employees are also expected to talk with management about scheduling, time off, breaks, and benefits. HPAE has 13,000 healthcare members in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Most treatment centers across the country have not unionized. Operators of these centers have traditionally  taken an anti-union stance objecting to employees organizing. However, unions are now aggressively  developing treatment center organizing campaigns.