Nurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick voted to ratify a new three-year contract, ending the strike that began Aug. 4. The hospital and United Steel Workers 4-200, which represents over 1,700 nurses, announced the new contract agreement late Friday.
The nurses had been fighting for better salaries, health benefits and sick time but the main sticking point was patient-nurse staffing ratios. The new deal outlines staffing standards and offers a more “collaborative” process for nurses and hospital administrators to address staffing issues and concerns. In addition to better staffing ratios, the nurses achieved salary increases and a cap on insurance costs.
The hospital admitted the strike’s significant economic consequences, saying in a statement, “We have already paid more than $120 million for our replacement nurses with the highest levels of certification and experience in acute care and specialized clinical areas.”
In a statement, Debbie White, president of HPAE, the largest union of registered nurses and health care professionals in New Jersey, said, “The prolonged strike has highlighted the critical issue of safe staffing in the state of New Jersey. The USW nurses won their battle for safe nurse to patient ratios, paving the way for all in our fight for safe staffing. We are grateful to these healthcare heroes.”
