USW Local 4-200 files notice of ULP strike at Robert Wood Johnson New Brunswick

Contact: Jess Kamm Broomell, jkamm@usw.org, 412-562-2444

United Steelworkers (USW) Local 4-200 announced today that they have given Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital New Brunswick official notice that they will begin an unfair labor practice strike on Aug. 4.

The local is comprised of more than 1,700 members who work as nurses throughout the hospital. Their most recent contract expired on June 30 after several months of bargaining.

The group voted on Mon., July 10, to grant the union the authority to call the ULP strike and last week voted down a tentative agreement.

“Short staffing remains a major concern for all of the nurses,” said Local 4-200 President Judy Danella. “This is not a step we take lightly, but we have reached a breaking point. We have to stand up for ourselves and our patients.”

Members also continue to have concerns about other critical issues, including reining in rising insurance costs.

The USW represents 850,000 workers 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 health care, public sector, higher education, tech and service occupations.