Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital nurses will strike Aug. 4, union says
Nurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick will strike Aug. 4, their union announced Monday.
United Steelworkers Local 4-200, the union that represents the hospital's more than 1,700 nurses, said it notified the hospital that nurses will walk off the job at 7 a.m. that day.
The two sides met for seven hours Sunday without coming to a contract agreement.
"This is not a step we take lightly, but we have reached a breaking point. We have to stand up for ourselves and our patients," said Judy Danella, the president of United Steel Workers Local 4-200.
The main issues in contract talks have been staffing levels, salaries, lack of retirement medical benefits and a cap on medical insurance costs.
“This is about future of nursing," Danella said. “We work through pandemics. We work short. We work very hard as nurses in the institution, and I think and I believe that a lot of people believe it has to do with respect − respect to nurses."
The hospital has called the prospect of a strike an "extreme measure that serves no one’s best interest, including the nurses themselves nor our patients."
“We have not received any counter-offer in writing or any credible sense of where the union stands, let alone what they would or could agree to,” a Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital spokesperson said in a statement Monday. “Further, we have agreed to enter into a binding arbitration, and the union has refused. RWJUH nurses are currently the highest paid in New Jersey, based on publicly available salary data, yet have rejected a generous settlement at a time when hospitals nationwide are struggling to recruit and retain nurses.”
But the union disputes that, saying that while the salaries of new nurses are in line with hospitals, veteran nurses' pay still lags.
No future contract talks are planned, according to union leadership.
email: cmakin@gannettnj.com
Cheryl Makin is an award-winning features and education reporter for MyCentralJersey.com, part of the USA Today Network. Contact: Cmakin@gannettnj.com or @CherylMakin. 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 will strike Aug. 4
