Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) responded to criticism of his decision to hold a field hearing in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on Friday examining nursing staff shortages in the context of a high-profile nursing strike in the state by raising the possibility of pursuing federal-level nursing staff mandatory minimums for hospitals.
"The purpose of this hearing is not, as some of our critics think, for me to get involved in labor-management relations," Sanders said during the hearing. "We need strong staffing ratios so that we can retain our nurses. That's what this is about."
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Sanders, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, was the only representative of the panel to attend the event held 2 miles away from the picket line at the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Only witnesses representing labor interests in the dispute testified before Sanders.
Sanders has thrown his public support behind the nearly 2,000 nurses at RWJ Barnabas Health who have been on strike for over 90 days due to chronic nursing staff problems. Workers say that understaffing puts patients at risk for suboptimal care and accelerates healthcare worker burnout.
Two weeks into the strike, Sanders sent a letter to hospital system administrators accusing them of not negotiating in good faith to address alleged "unfair labor practices." The chairman also hosted a livestream event with the striking nurses through his campaign website in September.
When the hearing was announced, ranking member Bill Cassidy (R-LA) called into question possible ethics violations for the chairman's creation of "the appearance that this hearing is an attempt to use the Senate committee that we lead, and its resources, to support one side in a labor dispute."
"Because of understaffing, there is demoralization, and people are leaving the profession, so we have [this] insane situation," Sanders said on Friday. "We desperately need more nurses, and nurses are walking out the door."
Nurses and support staff in healthcare institutions across the United States have called for action on understaffing that they say is creating dangerous conditions for patients, and healthcare workers, including physicians, have reported increased rates of burnout since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many going into early retirement.
"I think this is a test case in New Jersey," said hearing witness Debbie White, president of Health Professionals and Allied Employees Marlton, New Jersey. "I think every hospital system is backing Barnabas in their actions right now because they are terrified. They know nurses aren't going to take this any more."
RWJ Barnabas Health President and CEO Mark Manigan and RWJ University Hospital President Alan Lee were both invited to testify before the Sanders-only committee hearing but refused to attend. Both Manigan and Lee submitted written testimony, which was not referenced by Sanders in the hearing on Friday.
“It's unconscionable that the Senior Senator from Vermont overtly inserts himself into labor negotiations between a hospital in New Jersey and our nurses—and his public statements today illustrate that true intent," RWJ spokeswoman Wendy Gottsegen said in a press statement ahead of the hearing.
"We firmly believe in collective bargaining and that those negotiations should be conducted at the bargaining table — not at a press conference," wrote Gottsegen.
Sanders said in a press statement released Thursday that he was "disappointed" when he was informed Manigan and Lee would not be attending the event. He specifically wanted to ask "how they could afford to pay their CEO over $17 million in compensation in 2021, but apparently cannot afford to mandate the same safe nurse-patient ratios."
"If we had safe staffing laws, we wouldn't have nurses out on strike," White said during her testimony.
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Sanders emphasized during the event that nursing staff shortages are partly caused by insufficient nursing education, with institutions having to turn away students interested in the profession due to limited spots in competitive programs.
Sanders did not respond to the Washington Examiner's request for comment.