After being hailed as “healthcare heroes” during the pandemic, nurses at RWJ Barnabas Health's Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville, NJ saw Management ignore their concerns about unsafe staffing and work conditions.

In August 2022, the over 500 nurses at Clara Maass overwhelmingly voted to unionize with 1199SEIU.

As nurses negotiate their first union contract, Management is stonewalling these healthcare heroes by refusing changes that would improve staffing levels and provide nurses meaningful input in their working conditions, including the determination of appropriate staffing levels that would arguably improve patient care.

Staffing levels can have serious consequences for patient care, including dangerously long wait times in the ER, delayed treatments, and missed medications. Clara Maass Nurses are often required to perform non-nursing duties, which can critically impact patient care, due to lack of ancillary staff.

RWJ Barnabas is engaging in a hostile intimidation campaign against nurses. Active nurse union members are being targeted for calling for fair pay, respect, and staffing improvements for patient safety.

In addition, RWJ Barnabas Health Hospitals System has violated state regulations by failing to post legally required staffing reports in areas accessible to the public and failing to provide staffing reports upon request to the public. 1199SEIU has sent a formal complaint citing these violations to Kaitlan Baston, Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Health.

After months of bargaining, RWJ Barnabas Executives continue to refuse to agree to a fair contract that would provide nurses a meaningful voice in safety, staffing, and patient care.