RWJ New Brunswick nurses move closer to strike after contract talks break down
NEW BRUNSWICK – After a marathon 14-hour bargaining session that ended early Wednesday morning, no progress has been reported in the contract talks between the nurses union and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital New Brunswick.
Union members have voted to strike on July 22 if an agreement is not reached. No new bargaining session has been scheduled.
"The union is always willing and ready and able to go back and talk to the hospital," said Judy Danella, the president of United Steel Workers Local 4-200, the union that represents the hospital's nearly 1,800 nurses. "I can only say I do not have any dates at the current time to go back and talk to them."
The hospital has not responded to a request for comment on the status of the talks as of Wednesday afternoon.
In a statement Tuesday morning before the latest negotiating session, the hospital said it is "committed to negotiating transparently and in good faith with the goal of reaching a fair and equitable resolution as quickly as possible."
The main issues in the stalemated talks are staff levels, salaries, the lack of retirement medical benefits and a cap on medical insurance costs.
Union voters overwhelmingly rejected the hospital's offer on Monday and authorized a potential strike if an agreement is not reached.
The hospital has said the nurses rejected "a fair and equitable proposal" and called the prospect of a strike an "extreme measure that serves no one’s best interest, including the nurses themselves nor our patients."
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But the union maintains that on some days the hospital does not have the "correct" number of nurses on duty. The union also contends that nurses pay higher medical insurance premiums than many workers in "private industry" and lack coverage in some areas.
The hospital has said the nurses "already are the highest paid" in the state" and the contract proposal is 14% higher than the average published salaries in comparable New Jersey hospitals.
But the union disputes that number, saying that while the salaries of new nurses are in line with hospitals, veteran nurses' pay still lags.
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: RWJ nurses strike 2023: New Brunswick hospital contract talks stall
