Copley Hospital in Morrisville on Oct. 19, 2023. File photo by Carly Berlin/VTDigger and Vermont Public This story by Aaron Calvin was first published in News Citizen on Jan. 22, 2026. Just over a year after they first voted to form a labor union, Copley Hospital workers voted to continue t he union in a rare decertification vote, which, if successful, would have led to its dissolution. The Copley support staff voted last Wednesday 73-38 to maintain the union, in a secret ballot election supervised by the National Labor Review Board. The vote showed a slightly wider margin of support than the initial vote to form a union in November 2024, where support for organizing was 68-44. READ MORE The vote was held after 30% of union members brought a petition to force another vote on the matter. This came following a year of slow-moving contract negotiations and a pay increase offer from hospital administration for non-union employees. “Our coworkers spoke clearly today. We voted to stay organized, to fight for a livable wage and fight for a fair contract so we can provide the best care to our patients and the community,” Sarah Bray, a member of the support staff at Mansfield Orthopedics in Waterbury, said in a statement after the vote results were announced last Thursday, Jan. 15. “We respect the democratic process that played out and the decision employees made against decertification of their union,” Wayne Stockbridge, chief of administration and human resources at Copley, said in a statement following the vote. “While we had hoped to return to a direct working relationship, we accept the outcome of the vote. Our priority now is to move forward constructively and collaboratively.” Though Copley officials have emphasized in public statements that this push for a new referendum was enacted on unionized employees’ “own accord” and that a year of contract negotiations with the support staff union was done “in good faith,” internal and public communications leading up to the vote indicated hospital administration would strongly prefer the employees not be unionized. Following the successful union drive at the end of 2024 — the vote was held after a year of organizing by staff and the Northeast Nurses Union to address issues around growing disparity and benefits, and seeing the protections enjoyed by their nursing colleagues, who have been unionized since 1997 — support staff entered into contract negotiations with hospital administration. For eight months, these negotiations proceeded slowly, with much time spent constructing a fair wage scale, something Bray said the hospital did not have in place for support staff. Then, in an Aug. 11 internal memo, Copley CEO Joe Woodin put additional pressure on contract negotiations by announcing a 5% raise for hospital staff, but not for union employees, as “union members follow the guidelines outlined in the contract or are subject to union agreements with current negotiations.” Woodin did not comment for this story. Bray said she believed frustration around the length of the contract negotiations and the timing of the announcement that support staff were not receiving a 5% raise led to the decertification petition. “The staff, I think in general, are frustrated with the fact that it’s hard enough to survive on what we make already, given the rising cost of living,” Bray said. “That 5% makes a big difference for people over the years, and we want to make sure that that’s something we get every year, at least.” While nearly a third of Copley support staff were required to hold a decertification vote, hospital administration did not shy away from voicing their support for their staff hoping to return to business as usual. After the initial unionization effort, the Northeast Nurses Association submitted multiple complaints to the National Labor Review Board, alleging that Copley administration had violated the National Labor Relations Act and unlawfully fired two employees for engaging in unionization activities. Woodin said at the time that he had resolved these complaints with the NLRB. A request for comment from the board was directed to the Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, which did not return a request for comment. On Dec. 30, Stockbridge sent out a memo emphasizing that not including union staff in the 5% raise was “not a punishment but a legal requirement.” He added that first contract negotiations often take well over a year and would likely continue to drag on if the union was not decertified. He also emphasized the cost of union dues to employees as the downsides of a seniority-based promotion system favored by unions, as opposed to Copley’s focus on “individual performance and the ability to work flexibly with our team.” “We believe the relationship Copley has with our employees is stronger, more productive, and more responsive without a union,” Stockbridge wrote in the Dec. 30 memo, noting benefits employees were previously offered, like gift cards for local businesses during the holiday. “We strive to treat our employees fairly without the need for a third party,” he wrote. On the eve of the decertification vote, the hospital published a public letter from interim Chief Operating Officer Carol Ferrante that encouraged support staff to “make your decision based on what is best for your own personal interest and your family,” claiming again that unions privilege seniority, not merit, when it comes to promotions. “I feel very strongly that promotions and opportunities should be based on merit. If we are bound by rigid union rules regarding seniority, we lose the flexibility to reward the individuals who are working the hardest to make Copley great,” she wrote. Most of the hospital’s support staff were apparently not convinced. “The outcome reinforces what support staff have said consistently since organizing: They are seeking a contract that delivers fair wages, transparency, and the resources necessary to provide quality patient care,” Katie Doodie, a regional organizer for the Northeast Nurses Association, wrote in a statement following the vote. “Workers say today’s election result is a clear signal to management to come to the table promptly and negotiate in good faith to reach agreement.” Read the story on VTDigger here: Copley Hospital workers vote to reaffirm union. ...read more read less