Steelworker nurses stood
up for their patients.

USW NURSES RATIFIED A CONTRACT SECURING INDUSTRY-SETTING STAFFING STANDARDS ON 12/15/23

USW NURSES RATIFIED A CONTRACT SECURING INDUSTRY-SETTING STAFFING STANDARDS ON 12/15/23

The Real Story Behind the ULP Strike at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital

We are the nurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick: moms, dads, friends and neighbors who provide care for some of the sickest patients in New Jersey. There are more than 1,700 of us and we are proud members of the United Steelworkers Union, Local 4-200. 

It was a painful decision to go on strike, but we are standing up to address urgent concerns, like staffing. We need enough nurses so we can devote more time to each patient and keep ourselves safe on the job. Thank you for supporting our fight and sharing our stories.

  • “Nursing is more than a job for most of us. It’s a mission. Our top priority is negotiating a fair contract so we can return to patient care.”

    — Judy Danella, Local 4-200 President

  • “I want to be at work, but I’m here on the line for everybody who's a nurse, everybody who takes care of patients, and everybody who wants to take care of patient safely.”

    — Helen Mueller, RN in Pediatric Surgery

  • “Personally, I have almost quit nursing because of location ratios. I have gone home crying. I have gone home feeling defeated.

    — Jessica Newcomb, Critical Care Transport nurse

  • “They've called it guidelines, they've called it ratios. They've called it standards. It all means we would like to have this the right amount of nurses for the right amount of patients.”

    — Judy Danella, Local 4-200 President

  • "Most of the time you go home and before you go to sleep thinking did I really give my best to my patient today."

    — Jennifer Torres, Pediatric Float Nurse

  • "It's important to show my children to stand up for what you believe in."

    — Nina Kesely, NICU Nurse