Nurses Walk Out Friday For Strike At One Of NJ's Biggest Hospitals

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ — Nurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick are striking Friday morning, and picketing outside the hospital while they continue to demand pay rises and the hiring of additional staff.

The hospital said it is operating as normal on Friday, despite the fact more than 1,700 nurses are picketing outside the building. The nurses are represented by United Steel Workers Local 4-200 (USW 4-200).

Among other demands, the unionized nurses have asked for pay raises, a cap on health insurance costs and for the hospital to hire additional nursing staff. Related article — Robert Wood Johnson Nurses Plan To Go On Strike Aug. 4

So far, the strike has not reached the Somerset and Rahway campuses.

RWJUH already said they plan to hire "replacement nurses" that could be in place for "an extended period of time," which a hospital spokesman warned "comes at a great cost."

The hospital said in a statement it has contracted with a firm to provide nursing staff during the strike.

As Patch reported last week, the Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School affiliated was asking med students to volunteer, unpaid, in the hospital during the strike.