St. Barnabas Nurses Reject Hospital Offer Over ‘Staffing Issues'

LIVINGSTON, NJ — Nurses at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston recently announced that they plan to continue their ongoing negotiations with hospital, rejecting administrators’ latest contract offer because of “staffing issues” in the proposed deal, union leaders reported.

On Dec. 15, nurses at St. Barnabas Medical Center – represented by Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 1091 – rejected a contract at the hospital over staffing issues that they claim are still not being addressed in a “meaningful way.”

Negotiations with St. Barnabas Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, have been taking place since September. A strike was authorized earlier this month, CWA representatives said.

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A St. Barnabas Medical Center spokesperson provided Patch with the following statement about the ongoing negotiations, which are scheduled to resume on Wednesday.

"Saint Barnabas Medical Center is fortunate to have a dedicated staff with approximately 1,200 highly skilled nurses. Their outstanding efforts have contributed to the medical center’s national and international reputation for safety and quality. In October, Saint Barnabas Medical Center received its 12th consecutive 'A' from The Leapfrog Group for the Hospital Safety Score. In addition, the medical center was named a 'Top Teaching Hospital' for safety and quality by the Leapfrog Group for 4 years in a row, one of only 36 teaching hospitals in the nation to achieve that recognition. Saint Barnabas was also named the 2017 'Healthcare Heroes Top Hospital' in New Jersey by NJBiz. In November, Saint Barnabas Medical Center received the highest Excellence award from the Mid-Atlantic Alliance for Performance Excellence, a regional Baldrige-based award program that recognizes superior levels of performance excellence.

"Among the '2017 Best Places to Work in Healthcare' as recognized by Modern Healthcare, Saint Barnabas Medical Center provides a rewarding work environment with a generous compensation and benefits package. These factors contribute to the low nursing turn-over which was 7.2% for 2016, significantly below the national benchmark of 17.1%. Over the last two years, the medical center has added over 100 registered nurses and significantly increased its support staff.

"Saint Barnabas Medical Center has had extensive negotiations with New Jersey Nurses Union/CWA Local 1091 most recently under the jurisdiction of a mediator. Patient satisfaction/staffing language proposed by the union was included in the final agreement. We are extremely disappointed that a minority of the members rejected the proposal agreed to by the negotiating team on Dec. 13, 2017. The nurses at the medical center petitioned the union for a revote. Unfortunately, the union has refused to conduct another vote.

"We are still optimistic that a settlement will be reached and look forward to returning to the table tomorrow. We believe we have addressed the union’s primary concerns. If we are not able to reach a reasonable agreement, we are completely prepared to fully staff and operate Saint Barnabas Medical Center."

• See related article: St. Barnabas Hospital Gets 'A' Grade From Nonprofit
• See related article: Livingston's St. Barnabas Gets Nod As 'Top Teaching Hospital'

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Photo: YouTube / CWA NJ