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‘We’re burnt out!’ 1,700 nurses strike at RWJ University Hospital [1]

['Brenda Flanagan']

Date: 2023-08

Nurses walked off their jobs at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and onto picket lines across the street in New Brunswick. For the first time in 17 years, nurses went on strike — about 1,700 of them — demanding better staffing at the Level 1 trauma center that sees 3 million patients a year.

“We’re tired! We’re burnt out! We’re going and going — all day, every day! All shifts. Not getting breaks, because you’re too busy to take a break,” said nurse Sue Sienkiewicz.

Contract negotiations started in April in the face of a nationwide post-pandemic nursing shortage. New Jersey needs 14,000 more nurses, and the hospital’s hired 150 new nurses since 2022. It’s not enough, the striking nurses say. Veteran NICU nurse Linda Jenney explained their attention is divided between too many tasks, instead of focusing solely on fragile babies.

The hospital’s made three contract offers and says it’s willing to go to arbitration. In a statement it said, these nurses are the highest paid in New Jersey and that they work at a facility that’s the highest-staffed in the state. “We are deeply disappointed that the union has decided to take this extreme action,” the hospital stated, adding its latest offer

“ … addressed staffing concerns and provides a $20 an hour bonus for nurses should the hospital fall below agreed upon standards.” The union — United Steel Workers 4-200 — voted down the first two offers and hasn’t replied to the third one, said President Judy Danella.

The union’s looking for staffing standards similar to deals recently negotiated by nurses at New York’s Mt. Sinai and Montefiore. RWJ offered a 15.6% raise over three years. But its last staffing offer also imposes a penalty if nurses call out sick.

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[1] Url: https://www.njspotlightnews.org/video/were-burnt-out-1700-nurses-strike-at-rwj-university-hospital/

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