As November began, negotiations to settle on a wage increase for registered nurses at the University of Medicine & Dentistry (UMDNJ) continued to dawdle along with no end in sight. 

The negotiations, which had begun in February, were supposed to be completed by July 1st. However, University's management appeared to be in no hurry to bring things to a close despite paying RN salaries below those at other area hospitals.

"This is all too typical of the UMDNJ administration," stated HPAE Local 5089 Co-President Ron Bagley, an RN in the Trauma Unit of University Hospital. "Management has never felt any urgency about completing our contract negotiations. It is a basic sign of disrespect for us and for what we do."

Nurses Raise Issues: Management Calls Out Armed Police
But there were also other issues that were angering the Local 5089 RNs (see accompanying story). Fed up and frustrated with their situation, over 100 RNs assembled on the administrative level of University Hospital- a non-patient care area - in the early evening of Thursday, November 7th. Their plan was to peacefully present signed petitions to Sydney Mitchell, the CEO of the hospital, that protested their working conditions and the general lack of respect the nurses felt at UMDNJ.

However, management, apparently in fear for their lives, proceeded to deploy a number of armed police to block off the CEO's office and prevent the delivery of the petitions. And when Local 5089 Co-President Donald Bey attempted to arrange a compromise, he was rudely dismissed by the very aggressive - and armed - police officers.

"It was a complete overreaction by the administration," recalls Donald. "Management treated us as if we were some band of criminals instead of nurses who were UMDNJ employees with legitimate grievances."

Eventually a compromise was reached, and the CEO agreed to meet with a small delegation of RNs from the group and receive the petitions. However, while Donald Bey negotiated the compromise, the Secretary of Local 5089, Joy Anderson, RN, was arrested, while a camera was seized from an HPAE representative who was there to cover the event for the Clarion. The next day, Joy Anderson was suspended indefinitely by management, while Donald Bey received the same treatment when he reported to work the following week.

Management Comes to Its Senses 
Outraged by the actions of UMDNJ's administration, the RNs quickly planned a protest march. For most nurses, the way management had treated them after they had peacefully assembled was the last straw.

“I believe that the nursing staff is the backbone of this institution,” stated Molly Varghese, RN, who works in Ambulatory Care Services of University Hospital. “I was outraged by the administration’s response to our attempt to present the petitions. It just continued the kind of disrespectful and dismissive treatment nurses have received for years. Enough is enough!”

Threatened by the planned protest and conscious of the bad publicity it had received in the media, the UMDNJ administration quickly backed off. Both Joy Anderson and Donald Bey were reinstated with back pay, while the administration got Anderson's arrest dismissed. And just as importantly, UMDNJ negotiators quickly agreed to meet with the nurses’ negotiating team, reaching an agreement on the wage re-opener the day before the planned protest march.

Under the re-opener agreement, nurses will receive a minimum increase of 5% that is retroactive to July 1st, with over 80 nurses receiving additional increases that total up to 10% as a result of their placement on a new wage scale. The new scale also raises starting rates considerably, which should help UMDNJ to meet its desperate need for nurses. Still, many problems remain, and will have to be dealt with in the contract negotiations that begin early next year. 

“Salaries are still below average and that is going to hurt both recruitment and staffing here,” said Ingrid D’Souza, RN, who works in the SICU of University Hospital. “The contract negotiations next year is our real opportunity to change things for the better, which is something that desperately needs to be done by nurses at UMDNJ.”