JNESO Nurses Union Endorses 83 NJ State Legislative Candidates for Election
North Brunswick, N.J. – JNESO District Council 1, IUOE-AFL-CIO, one of the largest health care unions in New Jersey is proud to announce the endorsement of 83 candidates for New Jersey legislative offices. The JNESO Board of Directors unanimously voted to endorse these candidates after a thorough review of voting records and public positions on top health care issues. “Safe nurse-to-patient staffing ratios to ensure that healthcare workers have the support they need to provide safe and effective healthcare to their patients remains a top priority our members and nurses throughout the state,” said Elfrieda Johnson, President of the JNESO Board of Directors, which represents 5,000 nurses and technicians in facilities across New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

NURSES & HEALTHCARE WORKERS CALL FOR MANDATED STAFFING LEVELS IN HOSPITALS

(TRENTON, NJ) – Today, hundreds of unionized nurses, healthcare workers, community advocates and elected officials gathered in Trenton to urge Governor Phil Murphy and legislative leaders to pass and sign NJ-S304/ A-4536 – which will mandate enforceable staffing ratios in every hospital in New Jersey. The problem of understaffing has existed for decades but now has reached a point where our healthcare system is in crisis. In study after study, short staffing has been shown to compromise patient care and safety, as well as nurse safety. Every healthcare worker and every patient feels the pain of short staffing. “Enough is enough. How many more nurses do we need to lose from the bedside because they are overworked and stretched to their limits. How many patients should be put at increased risk because there simply aren’t enough nurses to care for them,” said Elfrieda Johnson, President of JNESO District Council 1 IUOE-AFL-CIO the professional health care union.

Nurses’ Union Ratifies Contract at Saint Michael’s Medical Center

NEWARK, NJ - The union representing nurses and other medical professionals at Saint Michael's Medical Center Wednesday ratified a three-year contract that provides fair wages, guarantees safe working conditions and offers expanded health benefits. “We are thrilled that the rank-and-file members of the union approved what we believe is a fair contract proposal,” said Dr. Alan Sickles. “While it’s unfortunate that we could not have negotiated this agreement without a strike, we are looking forward to having our nurses and medical staff return to their jobs.”

Nurses striking at N.J. hospital demand better pay, health benefits

More than 300 nurses, radiology technicians and other workers at Saint Michael’s Medical Center in Newark went on strike Monday over what they say are low wages and restrictive healthcare benefits that, in turn, have contributed to an ongoing staffing shortage at the private hospital. The hospital remains open and a negotiating session is scheduled for Tuesday, the ninth since contract talks began on March 28, with both sides vowing to continue bargaining in good faith.

New Jersey hospital workers begin strike

Members of the JNESO District Council 1 IUOE-AFL-CIO labor union began a strike May 23 at Saint Michael's Medical Center in Newark, N.J. The union represents 350 nurses and technologists at St. Michael's, according to a news release. The hospital, which is part of Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare, has about 1,200 total employees.

Health care workers at Newark hospital strike, citing burnout during COVID pandemic

Hundreds of health care workers hit the picket line in Newark on Monday. They are protesting what they say is poor working conditions and worker burnout. Members of JNESO - a union representing about 350 nurses and techs at St. Michaels Medical Center - voluntarily walked off their jobs. They are demanding a new and fair contract.

Nurses, techs at New Jersey hospital stage strike over working conditions

NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- Nurses and technologists at St. Michael's Medical Center in Newark went on strike at 7 a.m. Monday, citing what they call hospital management's blatant disregard for the safety of employees and patients. The union, JNESO District Council 1 IUOE-AFL-CIO, also claims that management is unwilling to negotiate in good faith, and that they are demanding "give backs" that defy 42-years of contract history with the hospital.

NURSES, HOSPITAL TECHS ON STRIKE IN NEWARK OVER CONTRACT WOEES

NEWARK — Nurses and technicians at St. Michael’s Medical Center have gone on strike after negotiations broke down weeks after a previous contract expired, according to union reps. New Jersey Nurses Economic Security Organization District Council 1 represents 350 nurses and techs at St. Michael’s — a 358-bed hospital in Newark.

Hundreds Of Nurses, Techs At Newark Hospital Go On Strike

NEWARK, NJ — A labor union that represents nearly 350 nurses and techs at Saint Michael’s Medical Center in Newark launched a strike on Monday, claiming that contract negotiations with the hospital have hit a brick wall amid a lack of “good faith.” Several members of JNESO District Council 1 IUOE-AFL-CIO gathered to announce the strike around 7 a.m., with plans to rally at 11 a.m. near the intersection of MLK Boulevard and Central Avenue.

JNESO launches “Thank You” campaign for Nurses Week

North Brunswick, N.J. — Nurses are known for the Care, Comfort and Compassion that they share every day with their patients, their co-workers, and their local communities. In celebration of Nurses Week, May 6-12, JNESO District Council 1 IUOE-AFL-CIO, the professional health care union, is asking for your help to recognize the more than 165,000 nurses in New Jersey. “Now is the time to really shine the spotlight on how incredibly resilient, dedicated, and selfless nurses are, and how critically important their roles are for patients and their families in all healthcare settings,” said Elfrieda Johnson, President of JNESO, which serves some 5,000 nurses and techs in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. “We hope that the public joins our campaign to say ‘Thank You’ to our nurses.”

COVID’s OTHER TOLL: MENTAL HEALTH OF NURSES

Chris Pease, a nurse at Virtua Health System in South Jersey, kicked her husband out of their bedroom at the start of the pandemic, in March 2020. It was months before she felt safe sleeping beside him again and she didn’t kiss him or other family members until that summer. Many nurses and health care professionals, like Pease who has 38 years on the job, had experienced HIV and other highly infectious diseases. But almost to a person, COVID-19 was different for them, scarier and unknown. They donned protective gear at work, showered after every shift and still feared spreading the virus to their patients and loved ones. “This one hit differently. We’d never seen a lot of people dying at such a rapid rate — you just see bodies after bodies,” said Banita Herndon, a longtime emergency department nurse at Newark’s University Hospital. “You could be talking to them today and they could be dead tomorrow.”

FOR BLACK NURSES, COVID AND RACISM HAVE MEANT FACING A 'DUAL PANDEMIC'

The first time Charlotte Thomas-Hawkins, an associate dean at the Rutgers School of Nursing, walked into a patient’s room as a new nurse, the patient asked her to get the nurse — as if a young Black woman could not possibly hold that position. That was more than two decades ago, yet Thomas-Hawkins hears nurses working today tell the same story. “That part of the workplace hasn’t changed since I was a nurse,” she said. "I found that disturbing." As director of the nursing school’s center for health care research and policy, she is now in a position to call attention to racism in health care and the psychological impact it has on nurses of color.

It’s COVID-19 booster deadline day for health care workers

Latest employee mandate is here. Refusals won’t automatically mean firings. Hundreds of thousands of health care workers in New Jersey’s hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities had until Monday to be vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 or face disciplinary action, including the possibility of losing their job. And despite an initial uproar, it seems most health care workers have complied. More than nine out of 10 workers at health care facilities in New Jersey have completed their primary vaccine series, according to state officials, and roughly three out of four have also been boosted.

JNESO’s Statement on Criminal Charges for Accidental Death Caused by Medication Error

The recent conviction of a Nashville nurse for criminally negligent homicide after an accidental medication error resulted in the death of patient is not sitting well in the health care community. JNESO District Council 1, a labor union representing professional health care workers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, has joined several prominent health care organizations in an effort to protect their members, patients and their livelihoods by publicly opposing the licensure revocation or criminal charges for human error. These organizations include the American Nurses Association, Institute for Safe Medication Practices, the National Academy of Science, the American Hospital Association and American Organization for Nursing Leadership.

JNESO APPLAUDS LEGISLATION TO PROTECT HEALTH CARE WORKERS

Advocates are applauding New Jersey lawmakers for their efforts to keep health care workers protected. Assembly majority leader Louis Greenwald (D-Camden) and Sen. Troy Singleton (D-Burlington) are sponsoring a bill known as the Health Care Heroes Violence Prevention Act. If the bill is passed, anyone found guilty of abusing a person working at a health care facility would face a tougher punishment than currently applies. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, health care workers are five times as likely to suffer a violent workplace injury as workers in any other profession.

NJ COVID hospitalizations drop below 5K as Murphy hints at lifting school mask mandate

COVID hospitalizations in New Jersey dipped below 5,000 for the first time in almost three weeks as many of the key coronavirus metrics continue to head downward for the eighth day in a row, statistics released Thursday show. Gov. Phil Murphy said Thursday that he anticipates lifting his school mask mandate before the end of the academic year if the numbers continue to drop fast as they did in South Africa and the U.K., where the highly contagious omicron variant first hit.

Health care union endorses 82 legislative Democrats – and Bob Singer

JNESO District Council 1 – a union representing nurses, technicians, and other health care workers – endorsed 83 candidates for the New Jersey legislature today, including 82 Democrats and one Republican, State Sen. Bob Singer (R-Lakewood). Every single incumbent Democrat in the legislature made the list, as did a number of non-incumbent Democrats running in the 2nd, 8th, 13th, and 16th districts.

Nurses Union Backs Murphy for Second Term

The New Jersey Nurses Economic Security Organization (JNESO) District 1 has endorsed Gov. Phil Murphy for re-election to a second term, giving the Democratic governor support from a union that represents over 5,000 nurses and health care workers. “It’s a little more than fifteen months since New Jersey reported its first case of COVID-19, and in that time our members have faced life and death circumstances as we collectively navigated a once in a lifetime public health crisis,” said Elfrieda Johnson, the union president.

JNESO Praises Senate President Sweeney, Speaker Coughlin, & Governor Murphy Protecting Health Care Workers & Safe Staffing Ratios

JNESO District Council 1, the professional health care union, is pleased with the legislation released today that will officially end the public health emergency, but will continue to prioritize the health and safety of frontline workers and New Jersey residents over the next few months.

JNESO and SEIU hold COVID-19 vigil and call for Patient Safety Act

Members of JNESO and SEIU gathered at Dansbury Park to memorialize COVID-19 victims and call for the passage of the Patient Safety Act on Tuesday.

Local Nurse Gives Back to the Community: Nurse Barbara Jones goes "Above and Beyond the Call of Duty."

JNESO the professional health care union that represents some 5,000 nurses and techs in New Jersey and Pennsylvania is proud to celebrate National Nurses Week by recognizing local nurses who go "Above and Beyond the Call of Duty," like Barbara Jones. For the past 50 years, Barbara Jones has been caring for the people in her community as a Registered Nurse and has no plans on stopping anytime soon.

Local Nurse Helps in the Fight Against COVID-19 Jennylin Schott volunteers at Mega Vaccine Center

JNESO is proud to celebrate Nurses Week by highlighting nurses who go "Above and Beyond the Call of Duty," on the job and by volunteering in their communities. Jennylin Schott is one of our outstanding nurses: "I became a nurse because I have always been interested in helping people," explained JNESO member Jennylin Schott a Registered Nurse who has dedicated her life to improving the health and welfare of her patients and volunteering to help those in need.

Celebrate Nurses Week: Say “Thank You” to nurses for going “Above and Beyond the Call of Duty”

Every day nurses give their all to provide the best quality care and to advocate for their patients. For many, this role continues even after they clock out at the end of a busy day. These same nurses, who have been serving on the frontlines for over a year, have now expanded their reach even further to serve local communities as volunteers in the fight against COVID-19.

Local President Annmarie Ruggiero Discusses Safety & Staffing Concerns on Blue Ridge Cable News 13
BRC News 13 LVH-Pocono Reaches Agreement

Negotiations between JNESO and Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono have come to a conclusion, and while a new contract has been ratified, the fight for nurses’ rights is far from over.

Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono has reached an agreement with nurses' union, but the fight is far from over

Negotiations between JNESO and Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono have come to a conclusion, and while a new contract has been ratified, the fight for nurses’ rights is far from over. After weeks of negotiation reaching back to the end of December, health care union JNESO, which represents the nurses of LVH-Pocono, was able to come to a new three-year contract agreement with the hospital on Feb. 11.

Labor Day is even more relevant since COVID-19 | Opinion by Douglas Placa

Almost nothing is normal in this pandemic year of 2020. Everyone endures restricted travel, entertainment, business and education. Many non-emergency medical treatments were restricted in favor of patients fighting the coronavirus. What about the holidays? Are they restricted, too? In some ways, yes, because of all the other restrictions. But in other important ways, no; not at all. Even if we can’t celebrate holidays like we usually do, their meaning has not changed in this strange year. In fact, the historical reasons and meaning for holidays is even more relevant amid COVID-19.

Op-Ed: The new frontlines: Advice from Pa.’s Nurses to Educators

Over the last several months, nurses, doctors, and other health care workers have been the first line of defense against what has become a veritable foe — COVID-19. We had very little information about the virus, fluctuating guidance, limited access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and often felt woefully unprepared for the enormity of the task before us. We did our best with everything we had, but lives were still lost, and the physical and emotional toll continues to impact us professionally and personally.

Op-Ed: Make Mental Health a Priority for Health Care Workers by Douglas Placa

Now’s the time to shine a light on the importance of the mental health and well-being of all health care professionals. The general public may be able to see the light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel as more businesses open and life kick-starts around the state, but the future is a bit murkier for frontline health care workers. For nurses and other health care workers, the stress, anxiety, frustration and fears of the pandemic are ongoing, and something needs to be done to protect their mental health and well-being. Health care workers are already experiencing high rates of burnout and depression, and some have been so negatively impacted they have chosen to leave the profession.

Traumatized by the amount of death, some NJ nurses unsure they can face another COVID-19 wave

The lawn signs call them heroes. And like veterans of any war, many nurses who have fought COVID-19 in North Jersey’s hospitals dwell less on their heroism than on the trauma they have witnessed. They appreciate the signs, but they don’t think you know how it felt. How it felt when, because so many were dying so fast, the hospital ran out of body bags and toe tags. How it felt to place one corpse — an 80-pound female — into an Army bag big enough to hold eight. To cut up manila folders for toe tags.

Douglas A. Placa, Executive Director- JNESO, District Council 1, Testimony to the Assembly Health Committee

Good afternoon Mr. Chairman and members of the Assembly Health Committee-thank you for the opportunity to address you today on the issue of the Mental Health and well-being of our healthcare workers. If I may, I believe this issue in and of itself has become collateral damage during this crisis as healthcare workers and providers have struggled over the last several months to not only treat sick patients, but to contain the spread of COVID-19 in their healthcare setting.

Passaic County police and fire departments honor healthcare workers at St. Mary’s Hospital

Thankful healthcare workers greet vehicles driven by first responders including fire departments, police departments from the City of Passaic, Clifton and Paterson as well as the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department, that formed a procession that drove to St. Mary’s Hospital, blasting sirens and horns as a gesture of thanks to the health care workers that attend to patients stricken with COVID19.

As officials worry about PPE supply, some nurses clash with employers

Amid lingering concerns about the supply of protective gear worn by nurses and other health care professionals, some workers and their representatives are clashing with employers over whether appropriate steps are being taken to protect those on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19. Nurse Dawn Kulach made headlines earlier this month when, she said, she was fired by Virtua Voorhees Hospital in South Jersey for trying to keep herself safe, wearing her own N95 mask on a COVID-19 floor when the facility was relying on regular surgical masks at the time.

NJ nurse says she was forced to lose her job over COVID-19 safety

A registered nurse from Camden County says she was fired from her job at Virtua Voorhees Hospital on Friday for trying to keep herself and others safe at work from the novel coronavirus. The South Jersey hospital system, meanwhile, says Dawn Kulach refused to comply with its infection control policies and protocols, and that's why her employment was terminated. Kulach said those policies and protocols are not protective enough. "I just wanted to do my job in the safest way possible, and that was not OK," Kulach, 39, told New Jersey 101.5.

Another NJ nurse is fired during the coronavirus outbreak in dispute over protective gear

A nurse said she was fired on Friday by Virtua Voorhees Hospital in Camden County for not agreeing to comply with a policy to ration protective equipment that she claimed put her and others at risk of contracting the coronavirus. Dawn Kulach, 39, of Sicklerville, who was told to take off the N95 respirator and gloves she brought from home or leave, said she and the union, JNESO intend to appeal her termination.

Virtua OKs masks brought from home; nurse who raised concerns fired

Nurse Dawn Kulach says she believes she was fired for going public with her concerns. A Virtua nurse who says she was prohibited from wearing gloves and an N95 mask she brought from home was fired on Friday. Dawn Kulach, a Virtua Voorhees Hospital nurse, said she was told by supervisors that wearing equipment from home was a contamination risk and that she could take off the gear or leave. Virtua declined to comment on Kulach’s case, citing hospital policy on personnel matters, but noted that it has revised its masking policy.

Virtua Voorhees fires nurse who brought her own N95 mask from home

Virtua Voorhees Hospital has fired a nurse for bringing her own N95 mask from home. News 12 New Jersey first reported about nurse Dawn Kulach who was originally suspended for bringing the mask and other PPE from home. Kulach says that her supervisor told her that she couldn’t wear the mask because it was not issued by the hospital. The hospital had given her another mask to wear, but Kulach described it as “tissue paper.” The hospital said that Kulach did not need an N95 mask because she was not working directly with COVID-19 patients. But Kulach says that COVID-19 patients were located on her floor. JNESO, the union representing Kulach, says that it will fight on her behalf.

NURSE CLAIMS SHE WAS SENT HOME FOR WEARING N95 MASK WHILE AT WORK

A South Jersey nurse says that she was sent home for wearing an N95 mask while at work and not the mask provided for her. Dawn Kulach works for Virtua Voorhees. She was told that she couldn’t wear the mask and gloves that she brought from home. “Virtua is playing a very risky game with our lives,” she says.

How the Inadequate Supply of Protective Equipment Takes a Toll on Nurses

Two nurses tell their stories as union rep says ‘conflicts between hospital administrators and medical staff’ are increasing. Pam Tavarone, a veteran ICU nurse at St. Mary’s General Hospital in Passaic, suited up for work last Friday in the makeshift safety uniform she had been wearing for the past week and a half — a white Tyvek painter’s suit, goggles and an industrial-grade respirator mask — all of which she had acquired herself. Supplies of personal protection equipment at the hospital were in short supply. The heavy-duty mask had left bruises on each side of her nose from her 12-hour shifts.

CarePoint Health issues 2,700 layoff notices in anticipation of hospital sales

The owners of three hospitals in Hudson County have taken another major step toward getting out of the hospital business. More than 2,100 layoff notices have been issued to employees at Hoboken University Medical Center (HUMC) and Christ Hospital in Jersey City, two Carepoint facilities that are being purchased by RJWBarnabas Health. Some 627 more layoff notices were issued to employees at the company’s headquarters and affiliated entities in Jersey City and Bayonne.

JNESO TO DISTRIBUTE BOTTLED WATER AT PARADISE BAPTIST CHURCH

As the battle over lead in Newark water rages on, JNESO District Council 1 members are taking action. On Saturday, September 7th, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, JNESO volunteers will distribute bottled water at the Paradise Baptist Church located at 348 15th Avenue (Corner of Hunterdon St. & 15th Ave.) in Newark. "Many of our nurses work every day caring for the people of Newark and some are on the frontlines of providing lead testing and education to the community, so we felt it was extremely important to do something to help," said Elfrieda Johnson, JNESO Board President, and a longtime Newark Resident.

NJ SIGNS MULTISTATE NURSING LICENSING COMPACT

The Garden State will partner with 33 other states to address its nursing shortage, which is the third most severe in the U.S. After nearly two decades of debate, nurses licensed in New Jersey will soon be able to work in dozens of other states — and those in other participating jurisdictions can also now practice in the Garden State. Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation Friday that adds New Jersey to an existing multistate nursing licensing compact that will soon connect it with 33 other states, including Delaware and Maryland — but not Pennsylvania or New York.

HAS NURSE STAFFING IN NEW JERSEY REALLY IMPROVED? | OPINION

The fact that Rutgers University conducted a study that deals with safe staffing ratios for nurses shows how important this issue is in New Jersey. The study, Effects of Public Reporting Legislation of Nurse Staffing: A Trend Analysis, claims hospital reporting of staffing numbers has led to better nurse staffing ratios – that nurses are handling fewer patients. Public reporting of staffing statistics is a good thing. However, JNESO, the professional healthcare union that serves some 5,000 nurses and techs in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, would argue the study does not tell the whole story.

JNESO nurses at LVH-Pocono donate shoes to girls empowerment program

More than 100 pairs of shoes have been collected by the JNESO nurses at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono to help support a local girls empowerment program. JNESO Chief Steward and Board Member Annmarie Ruggiero organized the shoe drive after learning about the Girls on the Run Poconos program, which provides after-school programming for girls in grades three to eight. Ruggiero enlisted the support of several JNESO union members at LVH-Pocono who helped spread the word and enabled them to collect more than 100 pairs of shoes since September. This week, the final batch of shoes was delivered.

Virtua averts nurses' strike with new contract, increased staffing

(Camden Courier Post) About 1,500 registered nurses have voted to accept a new contract with Virtua, calling off a threatened strike that would have affected the health system's locations in Voorhees, Marlton, Berlin and Camden, as well as its visiting home care nurses.

Virtua union representing 1.5k nurses votes to strike if necessary

(Becker's Hospital Review) A union representing 1,500 registered nurses at Marlton, N.J.-based Virtua Health voted March 6 to strike if necessary after complaining nurses are frequently too busy to take a break during shifts or take earned days off, according to a Courier-Post report.