Contract talks resumed on Thursday between thousands of unionized nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian and hospital management in hopes to finally end the largest nurses strike in NYC history. Nurses from the other two hospitals involved in the strike returned to work last week.
Third-party mediators arranged for management and the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), the union representing the 4,200 nurses who remain on strike, to meet at the bargaining table on Feb. 19. The talks continued after NYSNA rejected the most recent proposal from both their bosses and mediators on Feb. 11.
NYSNA members rejected the latest contract proposal because it did not fairly address their key staffing concerns. Striking nurses at Montefiore and Mount Sinai returned to work on Feb. 14 after agreements were made between the parties.
Beth Loudin, RN, local leader from NewYork-Presbyterian said NYSNA is looking forward to speaking with hospital management. Talks will continue throughout the day, with results to be announced.
“We are eager to get back to the table with NewYork-Presbyterian and make progress on job security and staffing,” Loudin said. “We’ve fought for six long weeks because we want the best for our patients and are excited to return to care for New Yorkers.”
Bargaining resumed after NYSNA members at NewYork-Presbyterian, who work in a pediatric intensive care unit, announced on Feb. 16 that they had won an arbitration award focused on staffing provisions in their contract.
In response to the legal case, a spokesperson for NewYork-Presbyterian told amNewYork that safe staffing is “always a priority and an essential aspect of delivering outstanding patient care.”
NewYork-Presbyterian hired over 400 new nurses over the previous three years at its Columbia hospitals, the spokesperson said.
Brooklyn Hospital Center nurses without health insurance: NYSNA
Meanwhile, NYSNA nurses at the Brooklyn Hospital Center plan to hold a public event on Thursday afternoon, reporting that they have been without health insurance for 19 days after hospital executives “failed to make required benefit payments” for nearly four months, resulting in terminated coverage.
“We go to work every day to take care of our patients, but we don’t know how we’ll pay if our families get sick,” Marcelle Willock, RN, case manager at the hospital, said. “We should not have to choose between caring for Brooklyn and protecting our own families.”
amNewYork contacted the hospital to inquire about the claims of terminated coverage and is awaiting a response.
Nurses did not yet say whether they would strike over the lack of coverage. Right now, they continue to work.
Meanwhile, nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian said they continue to strike until the hospital meets their staffing demands.
