Dear colleague,
Our unions are showing our support for the 1,700 nurses on strike at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick. The nurses are fighting to win safe-staffing levels and fair compensation, among other critical demands. Sadly, the RWJ Barnabas bosses—who work closely with Rutgers management—have spent millions to hire replacements at vastly higher wages to put pressure on the nurses to give up. And just last week, these dedicated health care workers were cut off their health insurance!
All of us will feel the impact of this strike. If RWJ Barnabas gets away with resisting the nurses’ demand for safe staffing, the medical facilities that many of us use across New Jersey will suffer.
Please show your solidarity with the nurses:
- If you live near Maplewood, NJ, our unions are joining together with hundreds of striking nurses and other union members for a march and vigil in Maplewood this Saturday, September 9, at 5 p.m. to send a loud and proud message to RWJ Barnabas Health CEO and Maplewood resident Mark Manigan—who also happens to be a member of the Rutgers Board of Governors! We’ll gather at 5 p.m. in Memorial Park (145 Dunnell Road); click here for more details and to RSVP.
- The nurses are also asking us to write to our legislators in support of legislation in the New Jersey Senate that would establish by law the safe-staffing standards the nurses are fighting for. Click here for a sample letter to send to your legislators.
- If you teach in New Brunswick, you can stop by the daily picket lines in front of RWJ University Hospital (1 Robert Wood Johnson Place) and express your support.
In solidarity,
Rutgers AAUP-AFT, Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union, and AAUP-BHSNJ
Rutgers AAUP-AFT Facebook page: https://facebook.com/RUaaup/
Follow us on Twitter @ruaaup and Instagram @rutgersaaup
Freedom School YouTubeChannel: https://rutgersaaup.org/YouTube
Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/rutgersptlfc
Follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @ruaaup_ptl
Visit our website: https://rutgers-ptlfc.org/
AAUP-BHSNJ website: https://onerutgersfaculty.org/
AAUP-BHSNJ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RUaaupbhsnj