An emergency room nurse and union leader at Jersey Shore University Medical Center who had been outspoken in his fight for more personal protective equipment has been fired, his union said Tuesday.

The Health Professionals and Allied Employees leaders filed complaints against Hackensack Meridian Health, which owns Jersey Shore, accusing the company of retaliating against Adam Witt, who, they said, was merely voicing the concerns of many of his colleagues.

"They feel unsafe and unprotected, and they're not hearing from the employer except to (to say) be quiet,” said Debbie White, president of the union.

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The union's complaints come as nurses statewide have raised concerns about being underequipped to treat patients with coronavirus.

Edison-based Hackensack Meridian is one of the state's biggest employers with more than 35,000 employees and 7,000 physicians. It owns 16 hospitals statewide, including Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack and JFK Medical Center in Edison.

The company late Tuesday said the union's claims weren't true, adding that no one has been disciplined for expressing their views about personal protective equipment.

"The health, safety and well-being of every single one of our team members, especially those on the front line, has been and will always continue to be our number one concern," Nancy R. Corcoran-Davidoff, executive vice president for Hackensack Meridian, said in a statement.

As of Tuesday, New Jersey reported 44,416 coronavirus cases, including 1,232 deaths. Hackensack Meridian on March 28 had 20 employees systemwide who had tested positive for the disease.

Witt, an emergency room nurse at Jersey Shore in Neptune and president of HPAE Local 5058, was fired after coming to the defense of a co-worker who had spoken up, union officials said. The local represents 1,200 nurses.

Witt hasn't been shy, union officials said. A late-night Facebook post on March 25, for example, sounded alarm bells.

"We don't have proper protective gear," he wrote. "The (U.S. Centers for Disease Control) has continued to water down the standards of what is appropriate protection to meet supplies versus supporting the science. Sometimes we don't even meet their reduced standards."

Federal regulators have eased their safety recommendations. Health workers who once wore one mask or respirators per patient now are allowed what the CDC calls limited re-use.

Gov. Phil Murphy, hospital administrators and front-line health workers alike have been scouring for personal protection equipment, including R95 respirators and surgical masks.

Without them doctors and nurses risk getting sick with the virus, endangering their own health and sidelining them just as more patients are filling hospital beds.

Hackensack Meridian's Corcoran-Davidoff said the company has daily communications and team huddles to keep employees informed and give them a chance to ask questions.

And it has taken several steps to ensure workers are safe.

Among them: It evaluates supplies throughout the day and to make sure there are appropriate levels at each hospital. And it has observers who watch to make sure employees put on and take off their gear correctly.

"We have policies and procedures in place to protect our team members and patients that are all in accordance with CDC guidelines," Corcoran-Dadidoff said. "The current global health care crisis does not negate their importance. Our priorities are to provide a safe work environment for our team members so they can provide the best possible care for our patients."

The HPAE union, however, said at least some of its members don't feel safe.

It filed complaints both with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Labor Relations Board saying Hackensack Meridian fired Witt for not showing up to work on March 24 when, the union said, he was conducting union business.

On April 1, it posted his picture at entrances at Jersey Shore Medical Center, saying he wasn't allowed on the property. And he was fired five days later, according to the complaint.

"During these challenging times, we would expect employers instead to work collaboratively with labor to recruit and retain nurses and health care workers who are in high demand at this time," White said. "Unfortunately, Hackensack Meridian is more focused on silencing the voice of those battling this pandemic than working with them."

Michael Diamond is a business reporter who has been writing about the New Jersey economy for 20 years. He can be reached at mdiamond@gannettnj.com and @mdiamondapp on Twitter.