in New Brunswick, saying, “there’s no group of workers more heroic than our frontline health care workers.”
Murphy made the remarks on Wednesday night during the “Ask the Governor” radio show on NPR stations, WNYC, WHYY and WBGO, when he was asked by a caller about the ongoing strike.“I’m not happy. We are a proud, pro-labor state. There’s no group of workers that are more heroic than our frontline health care workers,” Murphy replied. “And the fact that this is going on without any resolution is, in my opinion, unacceptable.
He said he would advise the parties: “Get into a room, lock the door and throw the key away and get a deal. I know that collective bargaining is hard...but at the end of the day, another phrase they say in baseball — instead of the tie goes to the runners — the tie goes to the workers.” Union nurses want the 620-bed hospital in the RWJBarnabas Health network to implement nurse-to-patient staffing ratios much like California requires.
to have nurse-to-patient ratios required by law. The govenor said he is aware the dispute centers around the union seeking minimum nursing-to-patient staffing ratios, but he was not aware of other details.“We’re a proud labor state, as I mentioned. These are heroes. Let’s get this thing resolved, period,” he said.