Nurses at HMH’s Southern Ocean Medical Center to go on Strike, June 9th

HPAE reaches a settlement with safe staffing ratios and fair wage increases with New Bridge Medical Center

Southern Ocean Medical Center nurses told Hackensack Meridian Health, the owner of the hospital, that they are going out on strike. The contract expired on April 30th with negotiations resuming on May 29th. With no movement from the employer, negotiations quickly broke down without an agreement.

“Yesterday, we, the nurses at Southern Ocean Medical Center, gave Hackensack Meridian Health a 10-day notice of our intent to go on strike because of the employer’s refusal to take our staffing proposals seriously,” HPAE Local 5138 President Anna Pona said.

The HPAE Local 5138 Strike at Southern Ocean Medical Center will commence at 7 a.m. on June 9, 2025.

“It is unconscionable for Hackensack Meridian Health to callously continue to claim that there’s no staffing problem at Southern Ocean Medical Center,” Pona added. “Who are they trying to deceive with that claim? I’ve been a nurse for more than 35 years. I have never seen staffing levels as bad as they are right now. My colleagues and I are overworked and stressed due to short staffing. We want to be able to care for our patients and we need more staff to be able to provide a safe level of care consistently for each patient.”

HPAE President Debbie White, RN, thanked Local 5138 members for their sacrifice and resolve to try to solve this problem despite the refusal of the employer to acknowledge the staffing issues.

“The employer is well aware of the volume of research over the past 20 years showing that nurse-to-patient ratios are best for patients, for nurses and even for hospitals,” said White. “Limiting the number of patients assigned to any given nurse makes all the difference in the world for patients.  It is literally the difference between living and dying and between recovery and relapse. Why? Because a nurse who is not burned out, stressed out and distracted by caring for too many patients, can give better, safer care. The research speaks for itself.”

“Hackensack Meridian had already agreed to provide the nurses at Palisades Medical Center with nurse-to-patient ratios in the contract they bargained with us last year,” continued White. “So why deny the patients at Southern Ocean Medical Center the same safe level of care?”

Negotiations on renewing the contract began in February with comprehensive proposals by workers on staffing, wages, benefits and other working conditions in the hope that these measures will help with the retention of current nurses and recruitment of new staff. But management has refused to engage on staffing, insisting their hospital does not have the staffing problems that workers have identified.

HPAE remains committed to the process of negotiating a fair contract with Hackensack Meridian.

HPAE Local 5138 represents 350 Registered Nurses at Southern Ocean Medical Center (SOMC) in Manahawkin, NJ. Within the Hackensack Meridian Health system, HPAE represents 900 nurses and healthcare workers of Local 5030 at Palisades Medical Center (PMC) in North Bergen in Hudson County; and 1500 Registered Nurses at of Local 5058 at Jersey Shore University Medical Center (JSUMC) in Neptune, NJ.

On another note, HPAE Local 5091 representing 500 nurses and health professionals at Bergen New Bridge Medical Center reached a settlement yesterday that contains enforceable safe staffing ratios and financial incentives that will help to retain our healthcare workforce and keep patients safe.

HPAE Locals 5131, 5142 and 5621 at Inspira Health hospitals resumed bargaining today. Their contracts expire on May 31, 2025.

“We proposed safe staffing language at the bargaining table on February 10 because we know it is best for nurses and for patients. Unfortunately, Hackensack Meridian did not respond to our proposal,” Pona said. “We came to yesterday’s bargaining session hoping they’d changed their minds. Unfortunately, they haven’t.”

For more information, contact: Michael Allen, (646) 436-7556.

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