An estimated 800 to 1,000 nurses at the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ, went on strike Aug. 24. Under the contract terms the hospital proposed, nurses would have received a 9% salary increase over three years, a 10% increase in pension contributions, and changes in healthcare coverage that would have “reduced cost and improved access.” But Local 4-200 of the United Steelworkers Health Care Workers Council maintains that the hospital’s health insurance plan is inferior and inadequate, and constitutes a “penalty” for nurses who come from four states to work at the hospital and don’t necessarily live close to the healthcare facilities in the network. “Our 1,300 nurses work with some of the finest physicians in the country to deliver the highest quality health care to our patients,” said local union president Jerry Collins in a statement, “but our health coverage doesn’t provide the same level of care for ourselves and our families.”
The hospital says it has replaced striking nurses for the duration of the job action with nurses it has recruited nationally. The replacement nurses were chosen for their experience in the specialty and subspecialty services that the hospital offers, and they also meet all New Jersey licensing requirements. “Daily reports from the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, as well as feedback from doctors, patients, and their families all confirm that the nurses who have joined our staff are upholding the highest professional standards,” said a statement issued by the hospital.
