Dumped six years ago into the cutthroat world of for-profit healthcare when their institution was privatized, HPAE members at Bergen Regional Medical Center finally said “Enough!” to continued cuts in staffing and benefits: striking on June 2nd. 

Staff reductions had left the institution a shell of its former self, while wages and benefits continued to lag behind those at other institutions; hurting staff recruitment efforts. Aided by strong community support from local labor and political leaders, the workers - registered nurses, social workers, physical therapists and other professionals - were able to remain unified throughout the 20 day strike; winning major improvements in wages, while fighting off cuts to current benefits and preserving existing contract rights and protections. 

However, winning their fight was not easy, and could not have been done without substantial public and political pressure. 

Negotiations for a new contract at Bergen Regional broke down when management refused to budge on Local 5091’s demands for staffing ratios and wage upgrades. Working conditions at the facility had deteriorated since its privatization (see companion article) while wages had stagnated in comparison to other facilities in the region.

“New employees are being offered wages close to what senior staff are making,” stated Jane Virgens, an RN with twenty-six years at Bergen Regional on the first day of the strike. “We need more staff but right now our wages are not competitive.”

No $ for Staff: Plenty for Scabs:
While Bergen Regional’s management pleaded poverty at the bargaining table, they offered top wages to any nurses willing to “scab” - spending an estimated $1 million weekly - including costs for hotel rooms, meals and transportation to put up strikebreaking nurses from outside companies.

Yet despite the attempts by management to get the strikers to break ranks and cave in, they didn’t; holding fast and picketing by shifts 24 hours a day. 

“If we don’t get a fair agreement, many of us will be gone,” declared Patricia Ballard, on the picket line. ”Senior staff are floated continually while new staff are not,” said Tracy Thomas, an RN with over 20 years of service at Bergen Regional. “They should respect their senior employees but they don’t. That has to change!”

Unity with HPAE Locals - Community Support:
Despite faithfully staffing their picket lines around the clock, the 5091 members needed the support of their colleagues in other HPAE locals, as well as community and labor support, if they were to prevail. And they got both.

*Members of HPAE local unions were a constant presence on the picket lines, while the locals kept up a constant supply of dinners, breakfasts and snacks for the strikers.

*Members of unions from throughout the state picketed with the strikers, including the Teamsters and AFSCME, while members from JNESO and its Executive Director, Virginia Treacy, also offered their support.

*Local businesses donated food and refreshments throughout the strike, while the NJ Veterans home across the street allowed the strikers access to their rest rooms and parking privileges 24 hours a day. 

Unemployment Benefits - Final Straw for Management:
Bergen Regional’s management now found themselves in the middle of a strike where the strikers had overwhelming community and political support, and forced to pay the exorbitant costs for outside “scabs” in order to staff the facility because the strikers refused to break ranks and return to work. 

The final straw came when Al Kroll, New Jersey’s Commissioner of Labor, ruled that the strikers were eligible for unemployment benefits. Realizing that the strikers could not be beaten, management returned to the bargaining table and agreed to much of what they had resisted over the prior two months of negotiations.

”Our struggle was not just about getting a contract,” stated 5091 President Barbara Rosen. “We took on the fight for the whole state and county - the fight for quality healthcare, the rights of healthcare workers and about restoring the mission of the hospital...Our dedication to the preservation of the mission of our hospital and speaking in one voice had overwhelming results. It is OUR hospital!” 

Solomon Group: Profits before Patient Care
Since the turnover by Bergen County to the Solomon Health Group, the for-profit operator of Bergen Regional, patient pace and working conditions have radically deteriorated. As a result of cutbacks in staff and reduction in competitive wages and benefits by Solomon:

*Bergen Regional’s LongTerm Care Division ranked 28th out of 30 Bergen County nursing homes, in terms of quality care.
*A survey conducted by the Department of Human Services found that residents at Bergen Regional received significantly less hands on care compared to similar facilities, both in New Jersey and nationally.
*In 2003 alone, inspectors found 15 serious violations of patient care standards (such as bed sores, standard of food for patients, etc) compared to the state average of 6 annually.
*In the same year, workers suffered almost 300 reportable on-the-job injuries, with assaults by patients accounting for 30% of those injuries.

That sorry record is a direct result of decisions made by Solomon in order to maximize profits. Those decisions have led to the loss of 42% of registered nurses and a similar loss of professional support staff that has occurred since the privatization.

Sweetheart Deal Means Patients Suffer:
There is no excuse for Solomon’s sorry record, as they have been rewarded quite generously by the County for assuming the operation of Bergen Regional.

Currently, Solomon receives $9 million per month from Bergen County to operate Bergen Regional; pocketing any revenues that exceed that amount. Solomon also has received two low interest loans of $6 million and $30 million respectively from the County, with repayment of the loans deferred until well into the future.

Rather than use those generous subsidies to operate Bergen Regional in a responsible manner, Solomon has used them to generate profits for other members of its corporate “family”:

*Solomon has siphoned off millions of dollars from operations at Bergen Regional and paid three of its out-of-state affiliates over $46 million in “consulting” or “management” fees
*One Solomon affiliate, Global Employee Benefits Management, has received over $64 million dollars to manage health insurance and other claims of Bergen Regional employees. Adding to that outrage is the fact that many Bergen Regional employees have had to fight continuous battles with Global in order to receive proper reimbursement for their insurance claims.