NewYork-Presbyterian Nurses Are Still On Strike

‘No nurse should have to take on 20 patients in the emergency room by themselves,’ one nurse said, as staffing remains at the heart of the strikers’ demands.

Claudia Irizarry Aponte | | When a mediator presented a proposal to striking NewYork-Presbyterian nurses and hospital management on Sunday, Feb. 8, the elected rank-and-file representatives at the bargaining table didn’t like what they saw.

Securing improved nurse-to-patient ratios in the new contract has been a major priority for the New York State Nurses Association, and staff at NewYork-Presbyterian have been pushing the hospital to agree to enforcement language that matches what their colleagues at Mount Sinai and Montefiore have already won.

Among other issues, the mediator’s proposal, which the union’s representatives rejected, offered only about half as many new hires as the union was asking for, said neonatal nurse Beth Loudin, who sits on the NewYork-Presbyterian executive committee. 

The nurses ultimately turned down the contract by a resounding margin on Wednesday, following a tense skirmish with union leadership, who forced a vote over the objections of rank-and-file nurses holding out for a better deal. (Mount Sinai and Montefiore nurses approved their tentative agreements by wide margins, and will return to work by Feb. 14.)

NewYork-Presbyterian now stands as the only hospital still on strike as nurses enter their second month on the picket line. As of Friday afternoon, the two sides and their mediator had not yet agreed on dates for further negotiations.

Patrick Kline, a cath lab nurse and strike captain at NewYork-Presbyterian Milstein, said he believes the vote results delivered a mandate and granted nurses significant leverage as they head back to the bargaining table.

“I think that’s what people have learned through this process — that we, the rank and file, are the union, and that if we’re not happy, we hold elections,” Kline said. “We want our nurses and jobs protected, and we want more nurses to safely care for our patients. That’s what it’s coming down to.”

The tentative agreement included the same 12% salary increases that the union secured in its earlier deals with Mount Sinai and Montefiore and preserved the healthcare and pension benefits the union and NewYork-Presbyterian locked in weeks ago. 

But staffing remains the heart of the nurses’ demands. 

NewYork-Presbyterian laid off 2% of its workforce last year, or about 1,000 staff, nurses and other healthcare workers among them. “We just need stronger language in our contract to protect our jobs. NYP just continued to delete that line that we needed,” said Loudin. “There’s no countering, there’s no conversation.”

Jacqueline Brown, a recovery nurse at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia, agreed. “No nurse should have to take on 20 patients in the emergency room by themselves,” she said.

On Wednesday, a NewYork-Presbyterian spokesperson said the hospital was “disappointed that our nurses did not ratify the mediator’s proposal, which we accepted on Feb. 8 and NYSNA leadership endorsed.” The spokesperson, Angela Karafazli, said the hospital is willing to honor the proposal the nurses rejected for reconsideration.

How long the strike continues depends on several factors, said Rebecca Givan, an associate professor of labor and employment relations at Rutgers University, who specializes in the health care sector. Management can weigh their readiness for a long strike, and they have a greater pool of travel nurses to hire once Montefiore and Mount Sinai staff return to work.

On the other hand, nurses have delivered a strong mandate in rejecting the contract, said Givan.

“I think it weakens Presbyterian’s hand, and it creates greater pressure on the hospital,” she said. “And it shines a light on the fact that nurses and patients in the other hospitals have enforceable ratios that benefit patients, and Presbyterian has so far refused to have the same contract language.” 

Since the Wednesday night vote, the hospital has sent out notices to nurses asking them to indicate whether they are interested in returning to work by 6 p.m. Feb. 14. 

Meanwhile, also in the last several days, the union has stepped up its efforts to ensure that NewYork-Presbyterian nurses do not cross the picket line. 

On social media, nurses have circulated infographics warning that the union will no longer protect anyone who breaks the strike. In conversations with colleagues, they are emphasizing the need for solidarity. Strike captains are routinely checking in with their hospital units to ensure members stay strong.

In the cath lab, Kline said, 100% of nurses pledged to continue holding the line.

Nurses at 2 NYC hospital systems return to work, but strike continues for thousands

John Dias || Thousands of nurses at two New York City hospital systems are returning to work Saturday after striking for an entire month.

The New York State Nurses Association ratified contracts with Montefiore, Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside and Mount Sinai West, clearing the way for about 10,500 to return to work for the first time since walking off on Jan. 12.

More than 4,200 nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital remain on strike after NYSNA members rejected a mediator’s proposal, extending the longest nurses strike in the city’s history. 

What’s in the new contract?

Organizers said Montefiore and Mount Sinai nurses voted overwhelmingly to ratify the new three-year contract after picketing through some of the city’s coldest weather.

NYSNA’s president said nurses are “stronger and more united than ever” after the strike.    

“It was a difficult process. It’s surreal it’s over 30 days,” nurse Roy Permaul said. “It was worth it for our patients. It is worth it to preserve our health care, all our staffing.” 

According to the union, 87% of nurses at Mount Sinai ratified their new contract, while 96% did so at Mount Sinai Morningside and 86% followed suit at Montefiore.

The new contract maintains benefits for nurses and comes with salary raises, about 4% each year, equating to an approximately 12% jump. It also includes safeguards against artificial intelligence. 

Organizers said the deal protects nurses and patients with new safe staffing standards. 

“We had to fight for, to defend everything that we basically had. Health care, pension, workplace violence. We needed a lot of protections. We needed protections against AI,” nurse Dania Munoz said.     

Hugs, high fives and tears 

Cheers echoed down Madison Avenue as nurses reunited before heading back inside The Mount Sinai Hospital for the first time since their historic strike started.

“It’s going to be a different hospital we go back to. But I think in the long run, it’s going to pay off in our careers and our sense of ourselves,” Jarrett Murphy said.

Union leaders said the walkout proved just how far nurses were willing to go to protect their patients. 

“We went through a very difficult process. We hopefully won’t go through that again, but we’re happy to be back home,” Permaul said.   

“I’m excited. We’re glad to get back to our patients. We’re glad we were able to get a fair contract,” Munoz said. 

Thousands of nurses still on strike

NYSNA said NewYork-Presbyterian nurses reached a tentative agreement with the hospital Tuesday night, but nurses ultimately voted to reject the deal and mediator’s proposal, meaning the strike would go on. 

Jennifer Lynch, a nurse practitioner at NewYork-Presbyterian, told CBS News New York on Wednesday that she is on the executive committee, which initially rejected the deal. She said she voted “no” again, arguing it didn’t address their main issues.

“I’m feeling a little bit shocked because yesterday we were a little bit blindsided by NYSNA going ahead and bypassing the typical procedure with the executive committee’s decision,” Lynch said at the time.

The deal included maintaining enforceable safe-staffing standards, increasing the number of nurses to improve patient care, and raising salaries by 12% over the next three years.

“Beginning late yesterday (2/10), NYSNA brought the mediators’ comprehensive proposal to a vote with the NewYork-Presbyterian nurses represented by NYSNA. The voting has concluded, and we are disappointed that our nurses did not ratify the mediators’ proposal, which we had accepted on 2/8, and NYSNA leadership endorsed,” NewYork-Presbyterian said in a statement, in part, adding, “We believe the proposal, which includes compromises, is fair and reasonable and reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role that they play. As stated, this proposal was presented by the mediators, who are some of the most respected and experienced neutral negotiators, after months of bargaining.

We’re told there have been multiple requests for negotiators to meet again.