Dear colleague,
Nurses at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick have been on strike for nearly four months in their fight for safe nurse-to-patient ratios, and they need our support to keep going—especially now that it’s getting cold and the holidays are approaching. Here are two actions you can take this week to support the nurses:
- Join a protest of RWJBarnabas CEO Mark Manigan on Thursday, November 30, from 4:30–9 p.m. at Hanover Manor in East Hanover (16 Eagle Rock Ave.). RWJ’s union-buster-in-chief will be attending the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce’s Power and Influencer Awards Gala, along with 150 other top executives. Click here to say you’ll be attending.
- Help the families of striking nurses have a happy holiday season by participating in a toy drive for United Steelworkers Local 4-200. You can click here to buy a toy for the holiday toy drive.
The chief demand of the nurses is to get safe-staffing ratios enshrined in their contract, yet RWJBarnabas has responded to their strike by trying to bust the union. The hospital had spent more than $120 million on replacement nurses as of mid-November. Meanwhile, the nurses had their health insurance cut off months ago. The outcome of this strike will affect the medical facilities many of us use across New Jersey. Please show your support over the holidays for the nurses’ just demands.
In solidarity,
Julie Flynn
Department Rep, Rutgers AAUP-AFT, and Assistant Teaching Professor, New Brunswick Writing Program
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