Delaware County Health Department workers informed Delaware County Council members June 14 they were forming a union and asked for their support, writes Billy Kauffman for Council 13 AFSCME.

The workers announced they were joining AFSCME Council 13, which represents other county workers, part of AFSCME Local 3107.

“Tonight, we are here to ask for you to invest in us. We are residents. We are taxpayers. We are also experts in our jobs, and every day we work to embody the mission of the Delaware County Health Department because that’s what our community deserves,” said Erin Anthony, speaking for the workers.

She pointed out that almost every other Delaware County worker has a union and a contract.

“Our roles are too important to go unrepresented any longer,” she said.

She asked council to pass a motion that evening or by June 11 to recognize their union by submitting a joint request for certification for all non-professional Delaware County Health Department workers to be filed with the Pennsylvania Labor Board’s Relations Board.

Delaware County Council members expressed support for the worker’s right to organize and said they were willing to meet with AFSCME representatives to move toward formal union recognition.

In other health worker news, the closing of Crozer Health is being felt in New Jersey.

A New Jersey company is laying off 142 workers this month who provided services to the now-closed Crozer-Chester Medical Center, writes Daniel Urie for Penn Live.

Med-Metrix offered revenue cycle management services to the former Upland hospital.

The layoffs will take place June 20.

The company filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, informing the state of the layoffs. 

The federal WARN Act requires employers to provide 60-day notice in advance of a business closing and mass layoff.

“The closure announced on April 21, 2025 was an unforeseeable business circumstance outside of Med-Metrix’s control which would have allowed for reduced notice,” the company said in the WARN notice. “However, in good faith, Med-Metrix is providing the full notice period to its affected employees.”

The hospital system closing resulted in one of Pennsylvania’s largest layoffs in recent years when more than 2,600 people were laid off in Delaware and Chester counties.

Read more about the health department worker effort to form a union in Council 13 AFSCME

Read more about the impact of the Crozer Health closing on workers in Penn Live.