Nurses hold candlelight vigil outside Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital on 5th day of strike
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- Nurses continue to fight for their jobs and more support at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Jersey.
It has been five days since 1,700 nurses walked off the job, citing burnout and lack of support.
Tuesday night, they stood in unity in hopes for management to negotiate in good faith.
Holding a candlelight vigil, they walked in solidarity.
"This will help everybody that's nurses get what they need to support their patients," nurse Marie Ciufo said.
"We have no staffing, no supplies, and this is every day," another nurse said.
"Some days I wake up and I'm like, I do not want to go to work," said nurse Nadine Elshrif, who has been on the job for less than a year.
She and others are not backing down on the fight for better staffing and more money.
- Read more: Nurses on strike picket outside Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Jersey for 4th day
"The turnover has been very high, and I think it's time the hospital kind of self-reflects for a second and asks themselves why," nurse Zoulikha Bakir said.
Once again, they lined up along Somerset Street, making lots of noise.
"I really think it's great that everyone is supporting us," nurse Danielle Stefanowicz said.
In the four months since negotiations began for the United Steelworkers Local 4-200 and its nearly 2,000 nurses, staffing is the sticking point in contract talks.
"We had nine nurses on, and then I had overheard my director say we had 17 nurses on for the following day shift," said neonatal ICU nurse Kate Trinidad.
That was enough for Trinidad to walk off the job. She's only been at the hospital for two years, and she's already burnt out.
"We don't have anyone to back up for help. We are scrambling," she said.
- Read more: More than 1,700 nurses on strike at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J.
A hospital spokesperson says the hospital remains open to good faith negotiations, further saying the union called the strike and walked away from the table.
Nurses, however, say their offers aren't fair enough.
"I just want them to settle and give us patient safety and our ratios so that it can help our patients inside," Ciufo said.
As for negotiations, hospital officials say they made their latest offer on Aug. 2, and the union has not responded to it yet.
