The New Jersey nurses who formed a union with 1199 at Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville voted to ratify their first contract in mid-February. They were the first group of RNs to successfully negotiate a contract in the Garden State in nearly a decade.

The two-year agreement includes guaranteed raises, among other job improvements. To address the nurses staffing concerns, management has agreed to set up a Collaborative Staffing Committee (CSC), meeting no less than once a month and including five union members and five managers.

The CSC will discuss, review, and make recommendations regarding staffing guidelines, nurse workload, recruitment and retention, the use of agency staff, staffing complaints, health and safety, and other staffing-related issues.