New York nurses reach deal with hospital to end strike

Feb. 20 (UPI) — Nurses and hospitals in New York City have reached a tentative agreement to end the nurses strike after six weeks of picketing.

About 15,000 nurses in the New York State Nurses Association went on strike on Jan. 12 from Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside, Mount Sinai West, Montefiore Einstein and New York-Presbyterian/Columbia.

New York-Presbyterian/Columbia is the only hospital left with striking nurses as the others have all reached deals with the union. The 4,000 nurses at New York-Presbyterian held out for a better deal.

The nurses were demanding higher pay, higher staffing and increased security to protect them from workplace violence.

The three-year agreement includes enforceable staffing standards, protections for health benefits, ways to address workplace violence, protections for immigrant patients and nurses, and limits to artificial intelligence in the workplace. It also includes raises of more than 12% over three years, according to the union.

“This has been a long, hard fight, but we are proud of what we achieved,” Beth Loudin, a nurse and local union leader who led the union’s bargaining committee at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, said in a statement. “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.”

Angela Karafazli, a spokesperson for New York-Presbyterian/Columbia, confirmed that there is a deal.

“We are pleased to have reached a tentative settlement with NYSNA, through the mediator, that reflects our tremendous respect for our nurses,” Karafazli said in a statement Friday morning.

The nurses could vote on whether to ratify the deal as early as today. They rejected a previous deal.

“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,” Nancy Hagans, the president of the nurses’ union, said in a statement Friday.

“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.”

During the strike, hospitals continued emergency patient care with temporary nurses but canceled elective procedures. They transferred some patients to other hospitals.