By: Rosetta Key
Rumors of a possible nurses strike are completely unfounded and not being generated by them. That's the response a union official representing an estimated 400 Ocean County nurses gives when you ask her about the status of contract negotiations.
However, it doesn't mean that talks between a Saint Barnabas Healthcare System negotiating team and New Jersey Nurses Union Local 1091 are trouble free.
Union President Maria Refinski says so far negotiations are fair and they've reached some agreement on several non-economic issues with one exception. She says they can't seem to get hospital officials at Kimball Medical Center in Lakewood or Saint Barnabas Behavioral Health in Toms River to agree to allow nurses to have two 15 minute breaks during a twelve hour shift. She says, "we need those breaks to regroup and just to get ourselves together to continue throughout the rest of the shift."
Refinski says, "as of now the negotiation team is also saying no to all their economic proposals." She says what's most important to the nurses are their medical and pension benefits.
Refinski says problem here is in the language of their present contract. "Right now the hospital has the right unilaterally to reduce or to eliminate our benefits or to take pieces of our benefits away and they have the unlimited right to increase the cost on the nurses." She says, "we're looking to eliminate that language and to secure our benefits." Refinski says they're even willing to fore go a wage proposal for a year to get that.
Refinski says the current contract was extended to May 15th and they have one more negotiation session scheduled May 12th before it expires.
The Saint Barnabas Healthcare System did not return our calls for comment.
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