RWJUH spends more than $120 million on replacement nurses as strike enters 5th month

Union nurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) have been on strike for four months and are expected to enter their fifth month of striking, according to My Central Jersey.

The nurses, part of the United Steelworkers Local 4-200, submitted their latest contract proposal last week and have not heard from hospital officials, according to the article. The proposal addressed issues that initiated the strike, such as low staffing levels. 

The hospital spent over $120 million on replacement nurses during the strike, according to a press release. The striking nurses lost their health insurance coverage on September 1 for not meeting the minimum number of required working hours.

"These funds could be better utilized for patient care, staff wages and improvements throughout the hospital," Alan Lee, president of RWJUH, said in the release. "Sadly, this will also deeply affect our nurses and their families, with lost wages and benefits."

Two formal mediation sessions occurred between the nurses' union and RWJUH in the middle of August, and no formal mediation has occurred since then, according to the release.

"There has been no face-to-face probably in greater than three weeks or so," Judy Danella, president of the nurses' union, told My Central Jersey. "It's frustrating. So, here we wait."