By Joe Moszczynski
The Star-Ledger.com

Registered nurses at Newton Memorial Hospital have filed a petition to join New Jersey’s largest union of nurses and health care professionals, the union announced today

The petition, signed by about 200 of the more than 300 RNs who work at Newton Memorial, was filed with the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency that oversees union elections, on behalf of the Health Professionals and Allied Employees.

The petition cites a number of goals for the union drive, including quality patient care and safe nurse staffing, professional training and education, retention of staff, fairness in treatment, fair wages and job security.

“We are unionizing for a voice in patient care — we are at the bedside, and we want to be able to speak up for our patients and their families effectively. To do that, we need policies that help our hospital recruit and retain the most qualified nurses and staff,” said Lisa Arbolino, a registered nurse at the 148-bed hospital and a member of the HPAE organizing committee…

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