of the union to conclude that they needed the support and backing of a much larger parent union with the resources and political ability to support the union. Rejecting the American Nurses Association as too management-dominated and the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees/RWDSU as too militant, the union voted in 1980 to affiliate with the AFT and its health care division, the Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (FNHP; now known as AFT Healthcare). HPAE continued to grow, but organizing came much more slowly. The union held 20 elections between 1981 and 1993, and grew from 1,000 members in 1980 to nearly 4,000 in 1993. In 1985, the union changed its name to the Health Professionals and Allied Employees to represent its shift away from purely hospital organizing. 1993 proved to be a pivotal year for HPAE. On December 4, 1993, 680 union members struck Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune City, New Jersey. Pay was the primary issue. The union wanted across-the-board wage raises of 5 percent and pay increases for senior nurses. The hospital sought to impose a merit-pay system. This caused former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman to almost strip Jersey Shore University Medical Center of their Level II Trauma Center and Level III Pediatric Trauma Center certifications. HPAE continued to marshall significant financial and political resources from its parent union and the AFL-CIO. On February 6, 1994 more than 1,000 people from several states rallied in front of the hospital in support of the freezing picketers. In late February, the AFL-CIO announced a boycott of the hospital. The union pressured the state department of health to investigate reports of lapses in the quality of patient care; a fine as levied after inspectors discovered that a strikebreaker had administered an overdose of a sedative to a patient. Talks between the two sides resumed in mid-February. A new contract was agreed to on March 10, 1994, largely on the union's terms. Restructuring and growth Following the strike, Twomey pressed for a 'culture of organizing' and a renewed focus on community alliances. With the support of her executive council, the union altered its spending and staffing priorities to focus on a comprehensive, interlocking program of external organizing, enhanced political influence and legislative accomplishments. The union's organizing program took off. Over the next 13 years, the union held 31 organizing campaigns—losing only four. As of April