NURSES STRIKE: Nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian reach tentative agreement on new contract, complete end of strike in sight

After six weeks of striking, nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian will return to work after ratifying a new contract that protects patient and nurse safety.

On Feb. 19, 4,200 NYSNA members at NewYork-Presbyterian reached a tentative agreement on a contract. Members will vote on whether to ratify the contract this weekend and, if passed, will return to work next week.

“For a month and a half, through some of the harshest weather this city has seen in years, nurses at NYP showed this city that they won’t make any compromises to patient care. They stood in the cold, snow, ice and wind, along with their union siblings, fighting back management’s attempts to cut corners on care and secured contracts that improve enforceable safe staffing ratios, improve protections from workplace violence, and maintain health benefits with no additional out-of-pocket costs for frontline nurses,” said NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN. “The wins of our private sector nurses will improve care for patients, and their perseverance and endurance have shown people worldwide the power of NYSNA nurses.”

The tentative agreement includes:

Improving enforceable safe staffing standards and increasing the number of nurses to improve patient care.

Protecting health benefits for nurses that were threatened to be cut

Protecting nurses from workplace violence

Protecting immigrant patients and nurses

Adding safeguards against artificial intelligence in their contracts for the first time

Increasing salaries by more than 12% ver the life of the 3-year contract in an effort to recruit and retain nurses for safe patient care

Beat back aggressive takeaways on healthcare and safe staffing enforcement

Return the nurses to work once it is ratified.

More details on the tentative agreement will follow ratification.

NYSNA won agreements at some hospitals, but the nurses strike continued on Feb. 12 at NewYork-Presbyterian.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

“NYSNA nurses consistently showed they’re much stronger than hospitals executives imagine. NYP nurses were relentless in their fight for a contract that nurses and patients deserve, and they delivered,” NYSNA Executive Director Pat Kane, RN, CNOR(e), said. “They secured more nurses to improve staffing, achieved the layoffs protections they needed, and ultimately showed one of the richest hospitals in the state that when nurses stick together, anything is possible.”

“This has been a long, hard fight, but we are proud of what we achieved. With the strength of our nurses and the support of our community and allies, we showed the hospital that nurses will not compromise on our patients’ care,” Beth Loudin, RN, and local leader at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, said. “This is a win for the future of healthcare for our communities and a testament to the power of working people.”

Nurses at Montefiore Medical Center, Mount Sinai Hospital, and Mount Sinai Morningside and West started bargaining in September, and began the largest and longest nurse strike in New York City history on Jan. 12. Nurses at those hospitals voted to ratify their contracts on Feb. 9-11 and returned to work on Feb. 14.