NEW YORK — Thousands of nurses at two New York City hospitals ended a three-day strike on Thursday after reaching a tentative contract agreement that union officials said brought better working conditions, in addition to an increase in wages.
The tentative deals at Mount Sinai Hospital, in Manhattan, and Montefiore Medical Center, in the Bronx, include a total increase of 19% over three years. Nurses began returning to work at both hospitals on Thursday morning, with Governor Kathy Hochul welcoming nurses back to Mount Sinai just before dawn.
The nurses, represented by the New York State Nurses Association, left early Monday after negotiations with management reached an impasse. Each hospital has over 1,000 beds and 3,500 union nurses or more.
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The union highlights staffing levels as a key concern, saying nurses who have worked during the grueling peak of the coronavirus pandemic are being too thin because there are too many jobs. Nurses said they had to work overtime, handle twice as many patients as usual, skip meals and even time going to the bathroom.
The association says agreements with private, nonprofit hospitals that include specific, enforceable staffing rates. The agreement with Montefiore also includes what the union describes as improved public health and a nurse-student partnership to recruit local nurses from the Bronx.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said in a statement: “Through our solidarity and by putting it all in jeopardy, we have achieved an enforceable safe personnel ratio in the country. both Montefiore and Mount Sinai, where nurses go on strike to care for patients. Working with our heads held high, knowing that our victory means safer care for our patients and more sustainable work for our profession.”
Hochul, a Democrat, said nurses would “get a well-deserved 19% raise here. There are also better benefits, higher wages for those with more education, and a again, the work environment allows them to focus on patient care.”
Union officials planned to provide details on the proposed contractual agreement and the deadline for ratification at a later briefing on Thursday.
Hospitals say they are grappling with widespread nursing shortages that have been exacerbated by the pandemic.
“Our bargaining team worked around the clock with NYSNA leadership to come to an agreement,” Montefiore said in a statement. “From the outset, we were committed to negotiating in good faith and addressing priority issues for our nursing staff.”
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The hospital says it is focused on ensuring nurses have the “best possible working environment, with significantly improved wages and benefits” through an agreement with the union.
“We know this strike has affected everyone – not just our nurses – and we are committed to providing solutions as soon as possible to minimize disruption to patient care. patient,” said the hospital.
Mount Sinai said in a statement that it was pleased that a preliminary agreement had been reached and that the strike was over.
“Our proposed agreement is similar to that between NYSNA and eight other New York City hospitals. It is fair and responsible, and puts the patient first,” said Mount Sinai Health System.
Several other private hospitals around the city have reached agreements with unions as the deadline for the strike approaches. Those deals also include a 19% increase over three years.
Mount Sinai and Montefiore said before the strike that they had offered similar pay increases.
