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Nurses at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and Mount Sinai
Hospital in Manhattan head back to work on Thursday morning
after reaching an agreement for "enforceable safe staffing
ratios", the NYSNA said in a statement.
"Through our unity and by putting it all on the line, we won
enforceable safe staffing ratios at both Montefiore and Mount
Sinai where nurses went on strike for patient care," NYSNA
President Nancy Hagans said.
Montefiore also agreed to new language and financial penalties
for failing to comply with safe staffing levels, community
health improvements and nurse student partnerships to recruit
local Bronx nurses to stay as union nurses at Montefiore for the
long-run, the association said.
The nurses went on strike on Monday after contract negotiations
stalled over pay and staffing levels, a move that forced
Montefiore to reschedule all elective surgeries and procedures
and postpone appointments at ambulatory locations.
New York Governor Kathleen Hochul, in remarks after the
agreement was announced, praised the deal "to get thousands of
nurses back on the job where they want to be" to aid patients.
Hochul said the 3-year contract could also help the state
address the healthcare workforce shortage with better wages and
conditions that could draw more workers, adding: "Know you are
respected, know you are appreciated."
Union officials and members also praised the settlement in
remarks along with the governor, calling it a "historic
contract" that recognized nurses' work, especially in the wake
of the COVID pandemic.
"This is a big win for the patients," one Mount Sinai Hospital
nurse told reporters.
(Reporting by Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra
and Chizu Nomiyama)
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