After three days on strike, nurses returned to work at two major New York City hospitals after reaching a tentative contract agreement with thousands of striking nurses, ending this week’s walkout, officials announced Thursday.
In a dispute over pay and chronic understaffing, more than 7,000 nurses at two privately owned, nonprofit hospitals, walked out Monday after talks to avert a strike failed over the weekend. Each hospital has over 1,000 beds, according to Associated Press.
The New York State Nurses Association said more than 3,500 nurses at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and about 3,600 at Mount Sinai Hospital on the Upper East Side in Manhattan reached a new three-year contract.
‘Thank you’s are no longer enough’:Why 7,000 NYC hospital nurses are on strike
More:Bed Bath & Beyond announces plans to permanently close 200 stores over next two year
Several other private hospitals around the city reached deals with the union ahead of the strike deadline, which included raises totaling 19% over three years.
The agreements with both hospitals include concrete, enforceable staffing ratios, the union said. The agreement with Montefiore also included what the union described as community health improvements and nurse-student partnerships to recruit local nurses from the Bronx.
“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 in a statement. “Today, we can return to work with our heads held high, knowing that our victory means safer care for our patients and more sustainable jobs for our profession.”
The hospitals say they have been grappling with a widespread nursing shortage that was exacerbated by the pandemic.
Montefiore said in a statement that it focused on ensuring the nurses had “the best possible working environment, with significant wage and benefit enhancements” through the deal with the union.
“We know this strike impacted everyone – not just our nurses – and we were committed to coming to a resolution as soon as possible to minimize disruption to patient care,” the hospital said.
Mount Sinai said in a statement it was pleased to have reached a tentative agreement and that the strike was over.
“Our proposed agreement is similar to those between NYSNA and eight other New York City hospitals. It is fair and responsible, and it puts patients first,” Mount Sinai Health System said.
Union officials planned to provide details of the proposed contract agreement and the ratification timeline at a briefing later Thursday.
Contributing: Associated Press