'Flip of a coin': Where do striking Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital nurses stand?

Update: Striking Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital nurses reject latest contract proposal

The union representing about 1,700 striking nurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick has until Tuesday to decide whether to agree to terms, enter in binding arbitration or continue their 40-plus day work stoppage.

Those options were presented Thursday during a six-hour mediation session with federal mediators who have jurisdiction over the strike, according to the hospital.

The nurses, members of United Steel Workers Local 4-200, have been on strike since early August over staffing levels and other issues.

During the mediation session, according to RWJ officials, the hospital presented the option of the union members returning to work and submitting the dispute to binding arbitration, which the hospital initially proposed in July, in which the arbitrator would have the authority to set terms for a new collective bargaining agreement between the two sides.

The other option involves the hospital's Aug. 2 proposal which the union never submitted to its membership for a vote, RWJ officials said. That proposal, originally offered two days before the strike, apparently goes further than what was in the memorandum of agreement the hospital signed the month before, which included the union's core staffing proposal and compensation settlement, according to RWJ officials.

The hospital previously said union leaders signed the memorandum of agreement and agreed to recommend the agreement to its membership, but did not.

"The union advised the hospital that it was going to take both options back to its membership for a vote. The hospital is to hear back from the union on Tuesday, Sept. 19," said Wendy Gottsegen, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital spokesperson.

Judy Danella, a 28-year nurse at the hospital and president of United Steel Workers Local 4-200, said the union had sought an extension of Sept. 21 to respond, due to the Jewish holiday, but was denied the two-day extension. The union's response is expected by noon Tuesday.

"(The hospital) is doing everything it can to end this strike. The strike is taking hundreds of thousands of dollars per day out of the pockets of our nurses and their families. The cost of the strike is too great for it to continue indefinitely," Gottsegen said. "We urge the steel workers to prioritize the best interests of our nurses and their families. The strike must end."

Earlier: When will striking Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital nurses return to work?

Danella said the union was given "an ultimatum" to accept the Aug 2 proposal, which does not remove any penalties for nurses who call out sick. She said the hospital also offered the option of going to binding arbitration.

A primary point of contention in the talks is the hospital apparently penalizing nurses who call out sick, something the union would like to see removed, Danella has said. According to Danella, the hospital maintains nurses take turns calling out sick to get a monetary benefit, but she has said nurses get sick benefits because they work in an environment where people have COVID and respiratory infections.

Another point of contention is the ratio between nurses and patients, which varies in different areas such as the emergency room, critical care and chemotherapy areas. The union wanted a 1-to-5 ratio in the medical surgery area, 1-to-2 in the intensive care areas, and to take into account there are some patients in intensive care who need 1-to-1 care, but that was previously rejected by the hospital, Danella has said.

"We gave them a counter proposal which they adamantly refused," she said. "It's on their terms pretty much. If that's considered fair bargaining, then I guess that's what's considered fair bargaining, but our proposal was rejected to try and adjust some of the wording on the safe staffing."

Danella said members now will vote.

"I really don't know where the members are in the entirety. We have very strong members that are very upset that we would have to vote again, but I'm sure there will be members who will be swayed on certain things, so it's like the flip of a coin at this point. I wish they would have worked with us, and worked with our contract proposal, but they didn't so this is where we stand today," Danella said.

"The members can now determine the fate of their contract," Danella said.

Email: srussell@gannettnj.com

Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital nurses strike deadline issued