Why after a month, nurses are still on strike at NJ's Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

WNYC News | Sep 19, 2023

More than 17-hundred nurses are on strike at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It's been more than a month, and the two sides only recently held their first face-to-face bargaining session since the strike began.

RWJ leadership says the negotiating schedule has been dictated by the federal mediator. Hospital officials say they've offered a settlement that hasn't been put before the union membership for a vote.

Among the nurses key complaints: They say staffing ratios are too low, putting patients' care in danger. But RWJ counters that it's offered to improve staffing ratios and provide compensation to nurses if it falls short. It says it's met union demands, but that the union chose to strike nonetheless.

Renee Bacany, the chief shop steward of Local No. 4-200 of the United Steelworkers Union, joined WNYC's Sean Carlson to talk about what nurses are prioritizing in this strike. The local represents the 1,700 nurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

 

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