Editor’s note: This strike began about a month ago. While Samaritan Medical Center, Carthage Area Hospital, and Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center cemented their contracts after a couple of weeks, nurses from Mount Sinai, Montefiore, and others waited a month before being provided with an acceptable contract offer. NewYork-Presbyterian nurses are still on strike. New Jersey nurses went on strike two years ago for better wages and safety. We also reported on the proposed change making nursing and many other female-dominated careers not professional, changing their annual loan cap limits for borrowers.
Nurses celebrate contract victory after nearly a month on historic NYC strike and begin returning to work with the last nurses to return through Saturday, Feb. 14
Nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian voted against the tentative agreement and mediator’s proposal, continue unfair labor practice strike
New York, NY — NYSNA members at Montefiore, Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Morningside and West voted to ratify new 3-year contracts by an overwhelming majority. Voting took place Feb. 9-11. These three contracts will cover approximately 10,500 nurses at two hospital systems. Nurses will begin returning to work, with the last nurses returning to work through Saturday, Feb. 14. NYSNA will advise the timing of any walk-back celebrations.
Nurses at Mount Sinai ratified their new contract by 87%, nurses at Mount Sinai Morningside and West ratified by 96% and nurses at Montefiore ratified by 86%.
Nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian voted to reject their tentative agreement and mediator’s proposal. More than 4,200 nurses remain on an unfair labor practice strike at NewYork-Presbyterian.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN said, “Nurses set out to improve patient care because NYSNA nurses believe that every patient is a VIP. Our contracts ensure that our hospitals are safer places – through increased staffing, workplace violence protections, and more. This hard-earned victory shows hospitals that they can’t cut corners on patient care. Now it’s time for NewYork-Presbyterian to do the right thing, agree to a fair contract and bring all our nurses back to work.”
NYSNA Executive Director Pat Kane, RN, CNOR(e), said, “This victory is not just for us. It’s for our patients. It’s for our communities. It’s for working people across the city who risk it all to go up against the wealthiest institutions in this city to fight for what they believe in. We’re so fortunate to have the support of so many patients, families, and allies. Now the work of enforcing our strong contracts begins and the work to negotiate with NewYork-Presbyterian continues!”
Denash Forbes, MSN, RN, and NYSNA director-at-large and local nurse leader at Mount Sinai Morningside and West, said, “This fight was for our patients, and our patients understood that. That’s why they supported us while we were on the picket line. We achieved improvements that will hire and retain more nurses, protect immigrant and trans patients and nurses, and create safeguards against artificial intelligence for the first time. We’re so glad to be going back in the hospital, though the fight for quality care and healthcare for all continues.”
Dania Munoz, DNP, NP, RN, and local Mount Sinai Hospital leader, said, “I am incredibly proud of our members who held the line over weeks in the cold and fought hard to protect patient and nurse safety. We were able to secure our healthcare and our safe staffing wins from our last contract, as well as make improvements to safe staffing and workplace safety. We still have more to do to keep ICE out of our hospitals, seek justice for fired members, and build a healthcare system that puts patients over profits—and I know our members are ready.”
Shaiju Kalathil, RN, and Montefiore local nurse leader, said, “Montefiore nurses put our Bronx communities first in these negotiations. There is, of course, more to be done, but the wins in safe staffing standards will ensure that patients receive better care, which was our priority from the beginning. We’re tired but stronger than ever, and most importantly, excited to get back to our patients.”
Nurses at Montefiore, Mount Sinai, and Mount Sinai Morningside and West fought for and won tentative agreements that:
- Maintain enforceable safe staffing standards and increases the number of nurses to improve patient care at all hospitals.
- Protect their health benefits, with no additional costs to nurses.
- Protect nurses from workplace violence. Safety improvements include additional weapons detection systems at entrances, additional visitor screening, wearable panic alarms, steps towards implementing behavioral health rapid response teams, and additional paid time off to appear in court for nurses affected by workplace violence.
- Protect immigrant and trans patients and nurses, including clear guidelines for protecting patient care and interacting with ICE at Mount Sinai Morningside and West and Montefiore, and new protections for trans workers at Mount Sinai Hospital.
- Safeguard against artificial intelligence in all contracts for the first time.
- Increase salaries by more than 12% over the life of the 3-year contract to recruit and retain nurses for safe patient care. Salaries will increase by approximately 4% in each year of the three-year contracts.
- Beat back aggressive takeaways on healthcare and safe staffing enforcement.
- Return all nurses to work after ratification. Nurses began bargaining in September and went on the largest and longest nurse strike in New York City history on January 12. They picketed through some of the coldest temperatures in the city and demonstrated their incredible resolve to protect patient and nurse safety through fair contracts.The unfair labor practice strike at NewYork-Presbyterian continues. The latest picket line hours can be found on www.nysna.org/strike.
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The New York State Nurses Association represents more than 42,000 members in New York State. We are New York’s largest union and professional association for registered nurses. NYSNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United, AFL-CIO, the country’s largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses, with more than 225,000 members nationwide.
Banner Image: Victory for nurses on strike. Image Credit – NYSNA
NY State Nurses Association
The New York State Nurses Association represents more than 42,000 members in New York State. We are New York’s largest union and professional association for registered nurses. NYSNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United, AFL-CIO, the country's largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses, with more than 225,000 members nationwide.