Southern Ocean Medical Center Nurses ULP Strike against Hackensack Meridian Health
Nurses—overworked and stressed out due to short staffing—are going on strike on Monday, June 9th to demand enforceable nurse-to-patient ratios in their contract.
WHEN: 12 Noon on Monday, June 9, 2025
WHO:
- HPAE President Debbie White, RN;
- HPAE Local 5138 President Anna Pona, RN;
- Laurel Brennan, NJ AFLCIO Sec-Treasurer;
- Stephen Sweeney, Fmr. NJ State Senator
- Wyatt Earp, Monmouth/Ocean County CLC;
- Jen Higgins, AFT NJ President;
- Maura Collinsgru, NJ Citizen Action;
- Antoinette Miles, NJ Working Families
WHAT: Unionized nurses, healthcare workers will discuss Unfair Labor Practices by Hackensack Meridian Health at Southern Ocean Medical Center and their decision to go on strike to protect their patients and improve working conditions.
WHERE: Southern Ocean Medical Center, 1140 NJ-72, Stafford Township, NJ 08050
EMERSON—Contract negotiations between HPAE Local 5138 members and their employer broke down because of refusal by Hackensack Meridian Health to bargain enforceable nurse-to-patient safe staffing standards. Member will begin an Unfair Labor Practices strike at the hospital, starting at 7 a.m. on Monday, June 9th. On February 10th, Nurses presented management with comprehensive proposals 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 insisted their hospital does not have the staffing problems that workers have identified.
Whether in a Union Contract or by a new State Law, New Jersey needs safe staff-to-patient ratios to protect patients and caregivers. Enforceable staffing ratios will improve working conditions, reduce workplace stress, and help the retention of staff. HPAE remains committed to the process of negotiating a fair contract with Hackensack Meridian.
RESOURCES:
- Overworked. Unsafe for everyone: The urgent need for Safe Staffing legislation in New Jersey
- Results of Survey of Current & Recent Bedside Nurses in NJ Hospitals
- Decades of Safe Staffing and Current Research
- HPAE POSITION PAPER, MARCH 2023 | Understaffed. Overworked. Unsafe for everyone: The urgent need for Safe Staffing legislation in New Jersey
- HPAE POSITION PAPER II, APRIL 2024 | Understaffed. Overworked. Unsafe for everyone: The urgent need for Safe Staffing legislation in New Jersey
For more information, contact: Michael Allen, (646) 436-7556.
www.hpae.org • www.facebook.com/hpae.aft • @hpaeaft • @hpae_aft
