Nurses at Clara Mars Medical Center in Belleville voted overwhelmingly to unionize this month. This is the biggest achievement organized among New Jersey health workers since her COVID pandemic began in early 2020. Let him join 1199SEIU, a powerful labor group based in New York.
More than 500 registered nurses at hospitals that are part of RWJBarnabas Health are represented by 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the union said. The 282 to 84 vote was tallied by the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday.
To date, 1199SEIU has primarily represented long-term care workers in New Jersey. With approximately 16,000 members statewide, it has won significant legislative reforms targeting nursing homes in the aftermath of the pandemic, including initial staff-to-resident ratios for long-term care.
1199SEIU’s larger New York chapter is a political force, with 250,000 members in some of the state’s largest hospital systems, including Mount Sinai Health System, New York-Presbyterian, NYU Langone Health, Montefiore Health System, and Northwell Health. Members who work in nursing homes.
At Clara Mars, frontline workers have been hit hard during the pandemic. Three employees have died from his COVID-19. Nurse Barbara Birchenow, 65, died within days of her planned retirement in April 2020. Nestor Bautista, 62, a nursing assistant who worked with Birchenov, became infected. and John Lara, an emergency room technician.
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The hospital, along with many other New Jersey medical institutions, has been fined by the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration for failing to provide adequate facilities and other protections to health care workers who fell ill and died during the pandemic. I was.
The nurses who led the organizing effort said contract negotiations would lead to better salaries and working conditions with other RWJBarnabas facilities, lowering the patient-to-nurse ratio and enabling them to provide better care to their patients. said he wanted
In response, Dr. Mary Ellen Klein, president and CEO of the hospital, said:
“We will do everything we can to make the hospital the best possible place to work,” said Klein. “We will work with all healthcare professionals to advance the health care mission across our communities.”
The nurses union, hailed as a hero during the pandemic, has had mixed results this year in negotiations with hospitals in New Jersey. increase. Bergen Newbridge Medical Center signed her new three-year deal this summer.
Several other RWJBarnabas hospital nurses are unionized, including those at Livingston’s flagship Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center.
The new Clara Maas union leader said working conditions during the pandemic have prompted nurses to take action.
“Everything that was wrong pre-COVID – it got the spotlight on it,” said Tanya Howard, a hospital nurse for 24 years. “It was blatant. We begged and begged. and asked for help.” Many nurses left to get higher wages as traveling nurses, she said.
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When a colleague fell ill with COVID, a nurse said she felt unsupported by hospital executives and managers.
Clara Maas nurse of 18 years, Barbara Villanueva, and nurse of seven years, John Garriger, talk about how they cared for their colleague, Barbara Birchenow, in the intensive care unit when she died of COVID. , became emotional.
“This is my community, after all,” Villanueva said. “I live in this community. I want to make this community hospital better. …I know I can do better, but I don’t have the ability to do it because I haven’t been given the tools.”
“Barbara would be proud of us,” she said.