Physicians and other clinician faculty members at West Orange, N.J.-based RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., have voted to unionize.
Four notes:
1. The clinicians are part of a group of employees known as clinically focused university practitioners, created after the 2018 partnership between the two organizations was formed. They serve as both as physicians and university faculty, according to a May news release shared with Becker’s by the American Association of University Professors Biomedical and Health Sciences of New Jersey (AAUP-BHSNJ).
2. The final vote was 66-21, AAUP-BHSNJ said in a Facebook post.
3. In a statement shared with Becker’s on May 2, an RWJBarnabas Health spokesperson said the health system looks forward to working with the union toward a fair contract and that its goal is to reach a positive resolution that supports employees and high-quality patient care.
“RWJBarnabas Health has and always will be a union-friendly organization,” the spokesperson said. “We recognize our employees’ right to organize and did in fact consent to an election conducted by the National Labors Relations Board. RWJBarnabas Health hosted information sessions to help answer employee questions, the same as the Union did. It is essential that employees hear from both the employer and the Union prior to a vote.”
4. AAUP-BHSNJ has represented Rutgers staff since before the 2018 partnership, but CFUPs were excluded from union membership, according to the union’s release. During 2022 contract negotiations, Rutgers agreed to prevent the hiring of additional CFUPs, ensuring that new employees would be eligible to join the union.
“Now that we have achieved victory in our campaign to represent these clinicians, we’re calling on RWJBarnabas to move quickly to reach a contract agreement that puts all Rutgers clinicians on the same footing,” union President Catherine Monteleone, MD, said in the release. “This approach would elevate patient care and help turn the Rutgers/RWJBarnabas partnership into the premier academic medical center in New Jersey.”
Rutgers referred Becker’s to RWJBarnabas Health’s comments.