This Hospital in Ocean County Faces Potential Nurse Strike Over Staffing Concerns

NJ Hospital Faces Potential Nurse Strike Over Staffing Shortages

This Hospital in Ocean County Faces Potential Nurse Strike Over Staffing Concerns

If the union and Hackensack Meridian Health are unable to agree on staffing levels in a new contract, Southern Ocean Medical Center nurses say they will go on strike on June 9.

The nursing union, Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE), claims that the strike was approved by a resounding majority of 350 nurses in April. Negotiations recommenced on May 29 after their contract terminated on April 30. Because their supervisors weren't paying attention to their worries about staffing levels, nurses threatened to quit that day.

The union informed the hospital on Thursday that if an agreement is not reached, the nurses will leave their jobs on June 9. Strikes in healthcare facilities are prohibited by the National Labor Relations Board unless the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service and the institution are notified at least ten days in advance.

The prior agreement with the union ended on April 30. According to Anna Pona, a registered nurse at the hospital and president of Local 5138, nurses and management met at 10 a.m. on Thursday, but when the topic of staffing levels came up, the negotiations broke down.

According to a statement from Hackensack Meridian Health, Southern Ocean Medical Center will continue to operate during any strike by using substitute nurses that are supplied by a staffing firm.