Nurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital ready to strike
A strike would see 1,500 nurses leaving their jobs. Union president Judy Danella says negotiations took place Tuesday but that no deal was reached.
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Nurses who work at the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick will take to the picket lines Friday at 7 a.m. as part of a strike.
A strike would see 1,500 nurses leaving their jobs.
Nurses at RWJ are represented by USW Local 4-200.
Union president Judy Danella says negotiations took place Tuesday but that no deal was reached.
Nurses say their main concerns are staffing ratios on floors, health insurance caps and decreased co-pays, and ensuring nurses aren’t penalized for calling out sick.
“We will be going on strike tomorrow at 7 a.m.,” Danella says. “The union is always ready willing and able to come back to the table.”
RELATED: Union: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital nurses to strike Aug. 4
The hospital administration has said it’s ready to fill those shifts with replacement workers and can do so for the next 60 days.
RWJ says it has offered a fair and generous contract including a 7% raise in the first year of the deal.
Administrators have said they’ve even offered arbitration to avoid a strike, but so far the union has turned them down.
The hospital says it will have its doors open as usual if nurses decide to strike on Friday.
Both sides have said they are still willing to meet, however, no new negations are scheduled.
