Nurses and Health Professionals at University Hospital Ratify New Contract with Safe Staffing, Safe Working Conditions

For immediate release: October 25, 2016

Newark, NJ – Over a two week period registered nurses and health professionals at University Hospital voted to approve new three year contracts retroactive to October 2014 and will expire in September 2017. Nearly 1,300 nurses and health care professionals represented by HPAE the state’s largest healthcare union in two separate locals, Locals 5089 and 5094, finalized voting on October 24th to ratify their first contract since the reorganization of UMDNJ making the hospital a stand alone facility.

The new contracts reached between the HPAE locals and management at University Hospital include:

• Improved staffing on critical care units with enforcement measures
• Increases in wages on average of 2% for each contract year
• Increased tuition reimbursement by $700
• Improved procedures for recruiting and training staff caring for quarantined patients

“As health care professionals our top priority is to protect patient safety,” said Cynthia McDougall, President of HPAE 5089. “When healthcare professionals are trained and equipped to face potentially hazardous situations, then patients as well as staff are protected. This contract ensures staff are trained and have the necessary equipment so we are prepared and can respond to potentially life threatening illnesses in a manner that is in the best interest of patients and workers.”

“This contract recognizes the value of nurses and health professionals at University Hospital,” said Christine Boardingham, Committee Chair of HPAE 5094. “After extensive negotiations we achieved improvements in working conditions to help retain dedicated professionals throughout our hospital.”

The Health Professionals and Allied Employees (HPAE) is the largest union of registered nurses and health care professionals in New Jersey. Since its founding by Englewood Hospital nurses in 1974, HPAE has expanded across the state and into Southeastern Pennsylvania representing 13,000 nurses, social workers, therapists, technicians, medical researchers, and other health care professionals in hospitals, nursing homes, home care agencies, blood banks and university research facilities.

For more information, please contact:
Bridget Devane, (732) 996-5493