Message from the President

Hello there. I’m writing this on Friday, June 27th, which is a big day for us—opening day of contract negotiations with HMH. We have been working hard the past few weeks to finalize our contract proposals, and I think it shows: we are putting 49 proposals across the table, some large and some small. Some of them are meant to clean up contract language, to make it clearer and to make sure it aligns with how things work in the hospital. Then there’s the big stuff—proposals for enforceable staffing ratios, better pay and benefits, incentives for picking up extra shifts, safety in the workplace… the things we need to make JSUMC a place where nurses want to work and where patients can be guaranteed safe, humane care.

Some people might think the things we are fighting for are unrealistic. Part of my job is to tell you that that isn’t true, because having a union means we can exert a lot of pressure on management to do the right thing. But luckily, you don’t just have to take my word for it! Enforceable staffing ratios exist in the law in many states, and hospitals there still rake in plenty of money. They also exist all around us in New Jersey—at RWJ in New Brunswick, where the nurses went on strike in 2023, and at many HPAE-represented hospitals, because our union has been fighting to get ratios in every contract. Over the past two years, HPAE-represented nurses and health professionals have successfully pressured management to agree to staffing ratios at University Hospital, Englewood Hospital, Cooper Hospital, Bergen New Bridge Hospital, four (4!) separate Inspira hospitals, and the two HMH hospitals represented by HPAE: Palisades Medical Center, and Southern Ocean Medical Center. SOMC just settled their contract with staffing ratios earlier this month.

We thank our union comrades at all these facilities for standing up for what’s right for healthcare workers and patients, and for setting the stage for us at Local 5058. Now it’s our turn to do what’s necessary to achieve the same and more for ourselves, our fellow healthcare workers, and our patients. If you’ve read this far, you should know that doing what’s necessary means getting involved. Keep reading to find out how…

Upcoming Meetings

Our next meetings will be General Membership Meetings on July 16th at 5pm and 745pm at Glendola Fire House in Belmar. Dinner will be served. Invites will be sent out (if you aren’t receiving communications from the union, please update your contact info). All members are welcome at any meeting. Please mark your calendar for all our upcoming meetings:

• Wednesday, July 16th – General Membership Meetings in person at 5pm and 745pm (dinner will be served), Glendola Fire House in Belmar
• Wednesday, August 6th – Rep/Contract Action Team meetings at 6pm and 730pm via Zoom
• Wednesday, September 10th – General Membership Meetings
• Wednesday, October 1st – Rep/Contract Action Team meetings

Get Involved!

Yes, that means you! Once again, all members are welcome at any meeting! This is a great opportunity to stay informed, ask questions, and get involved in the direction of our union. Right now, we need members like you to represent their departments as part of the Contract Action Team (CAT). With negotiations in progress, CAT plays a critical role in ensuring that our collective bargaining efforts are effective. You can help organize the nurses on your unit, keep them informed of what’s going on, and keep the union leadership informed about what matters most to you and your coworkers!

Sign our petition: We want all our members to take a minute to sign our petition in support of a fair contract. Some of the locals listed above got 90%+ of their membership to sign similar petitions, and we want to beat them! After you’re done signing, badger your coworkers until they sign it too!

Help with Community Outreach: Winning a fair contract means being visible in the community and talking to people about what we’re fighting for. We need help with this, so check out some upcoming events, sign up for one, and tell a coworker to sign up to join you!

Find Us on Telegram

We decided to create a new members-only group for Local 5058 on the Telegram messaging app. If people like it, it could be a better way for all of us to securely talk to each other compared to Facebook. You can download Telegram for free on your app store (look for the icon shown here with lots of downloads).

Once you’ve downloaded it, click here to find our private group. Before you’re allowed to join, you’ll get a message from a bot we set up to screen people to ensure they are members. Reply to the bot with the requested info, and you should be automatically allowed into the group. Hope to see you there!

Email us at [email protected] if you have trouble joining.

Remember Your Weingarten Rights

Did you know you have Weingarten Rights? Well you do… here’s what that means: as a union member, you have the legal right to have a Union Rep present for any meeting with management which may lead to you being disciplined, and to respectfully decline to answer questions until your Rep is present and you have had a chance to privately consult with them. Your Rep can be any union member and can help by serving as a witness, asking questions, and raising contract language and other relevant facts. It's the law, and it’s also in our contract (Section 2.05 on page 3).

Asserting these rights is simple, and you are legally protected if you do so by saying something like this: “If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated, I request that my HPAE Union Rep be present at the meeting. Without representation, I choose not to answer any questions.”

Just recently, because we had a union rep present for a discipline, we were able to get it immediately reduced to an unofficial “major learning experience.” Our union reps have also recently succeeded in saving members’ jobs in more severe disciplines. If necessary, our contract also gives us the right to file a grievance over a discipline or any other contract violation, so if you need help don’t keep it to yourself! Email us at [email protected].

Candid Pics from the HMH C-Suite

* Legal Disclaimer: Local 5058 cannot be held responsible for shitty memes. Blame HMH.