well a labor crisis is already happening among health care workers more than 1700 nurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick are still on the picket line five weeks after initiating a strike and the battle between the union and the hospital is only getting uglier nurses who walked off the job lost their health insurance coverage at the start of the month they're seeking better pay and Staffing to items they've been trying to lock in since the pandemic took its toll on the workforce and say they're prepared to strike for as long as it takes Ted Goldberg has the latest we get spit on punched on and we still come to work but our benefit is sick time and they want to penalize us for sick time how do you treat your family like that nurses at RWJ University Hospital are still on strike after a month and a day it's been three weeks since nurses in the hospital have met at the negotiating table and nurses continue to insist on higher Staffing levels that are enforceable I have to go to the bathroom not so bad so I push the call Bell two hours later finally somebody came to help me to the bathroom and the nurse who cared for me greeted me with an apology I'm sorry I have so many other patients RWJ Barnabas health and underwriter for NJ Spotlight took away health insurance from striking workers last week it's forced them to pay for Cobra if they want insurance and it's angered nurses and Union leadership they may think they're going to squeeze us because they got our health care they may think they're going to squeeze us because they brought the scabs in for another 30 days but they're gonna learn a lesson here in New Brunswick that they'll never forget that we're gonna beat it we're gonna last them one day longer and they'll never ever try it on us again it's getting really ugly the hospital is absolutely resisting they're demonstrating that they're willing to spend millions of dollars on replacement workers rather than agreeing to clear Staffing standards that would benefit patients as well as nurses Rebecca given is an associate professor for the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations she says stripping Health Care from striking workers isn't an extraordinary move but she still thinks it's Petty if they said we understand as a healthcare organization that health insurance is is significant to our nurses and as a show of good faith will allow them to have continuity so it's it's really taking uh the lowest Road they could take the union got a boost this week as some of rwj's newest nursing hires joined them they were previously going through paid training but now they're on the picket lines the strategy is to send us out here so when the union goes to a second Booth we will vote against the strike we're not going to do that it was hard seeing our co-workers out here fighting and there was nothing that we could really do until we made it out of our probation period a long dormant bill in Trenton would require the Staffing levels that nurses are striking for state senator Linda Greenstein is a sponsor for the bill which could help shorten the strike if it's signed into law making sure that our hospitals and health care facilities are adequately and properly staffed means the staff will be well equipped to provide exceptional patient care and ultimately to save lives we have also bills we have I have student loans I can't speak for everybody else but you know I paid up until September but what happens if this goes on longer I just worry you know about Financial situations along with 1700 other nurses Union president Judy danella says RWJ told them a strike would mean nurses are out of work for 60 days we're still nearly a month away from that Benchmark with little hope for a deal in sight in New Brunswick I'm Ted Goldberg NJ Spotlight news [Music]