(EDISON, NEW JERSEY) – Members of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 4-200 have ratified a Collective Bargaining Agreement with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital New Brunswick that secures industry-setting staffing standards to protect both Workers and patients.

Local 4-200 President Judy Danella said it was the solidarity of the Union’s 1,700 Nurses and the support of the community that led to this agreement that ends the four-month-long Unfair Labor Practice Strike: “This contract would not have been possible if the Nurses hadn’t stood together and demanded what our patients deserve.  This campaign has always been about safety and quality care, and we are ready to get back to work doing what we love.”

The agreement includes not just guidelines but enforcement mechanisms to help ensure the hospital maintains safe staffing levels, as well as an infrastructure to facilitate greater communication between Front-Line Nurses and the hospital’s administration.

The hospital will also add an additional 70 Registered Nurse (RN) positions, effective May 1st, 2024.

These positions will be a mixture of full-time and part-time Employees.

“We are particularly proud that this contract includes accountability and communication, which will ensure that staffing will remain a top priority moving forward,” Danella said.

The USW represents 850,000 Workers who are employed in Health Care, Metals, Mining, Pulp And Paper, Rubber, Chemicals, Glass, Auto Supply and the Energy-Producing Industries, along with a growing number of Workers in Public Sector, Higher Education, Tech and Service occupations.

To Directly Access This Labor News Report, Go To: USW Nurses at Robert Wood Johnson Ratify Contract Securing Industry-Setting Staffing Standards | United Steelworkers