Nurses on strike in New York approve new contracts at 2 of 3 hospital systems

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NEW YORK (AP) — Nurses on strike at two major New York City hospital systems have approved new contracts, but ones striking at another system rejected the proposal, ensuring that the monthlong walkout will continue at some of the city’s major medical centers.

The New York State Nurses Association announced Wednesday that its members at Montefiore and Mount Sinai approved new three-year deals while nurses at NewYork Presbyterian rejected the proposal.

The nurses who will be returning to work in the coming days represent about 10,500 of the roughly 15,000 nurses who walked off the job Jan. 12 in what the union said is the largest and longest strike of its kind in city history.

“This hard-earned victory shows hospitals that they can’t cut corners on patient care,” Nancy Hagans, the union’s president, said in a statement. “Now it’s time for NewYork-Presbyterian to do the right thing, agree to a fair contract and bring all our nurses back to work.”

Brendan Carr, CEO of Mount Sinai, urged hospital staff to come together with empathy and respect and a “shared culture” as its unionized nurses return to work starting Saturday.

“The past several weeks have been challenging, emotional, frustrating, and exhausting in different ways for all of us,” he said in a letter to staff. “I want to remind us all that health care is built on compassion, and that compassion must extend not only to our patients, but also to one another.”

NewYork Presbyterian said it was disappointed its nurses did not ratify a proposal from mediators that would have provided similar benefits and protections as those approved by their counterparts at Montefiore and Mount Sinai.

The union’s top leaders also urged NewYork Presbyterian nurses to accept the deal, even though its own bargaining committee rejected it.

“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,” NewYork Presbyterian said in a statement.

The hospital system said it's still determining its next steps. More than 4,200 NewYork Presbyterian nurses remain on strike, the union said.

A spokesperson for Montefiore didn’t immediately comment.

The union said the deals ratified Wednesday include pay raises of more than 12% over three years.

They also maintain nurses’ health benefits with no additional out-of-pocket costs and include new protections against workplace violence, including specific protections for transgender and immigrant nurses and patients, the union said.

The pacts even include new safeguards against the use of artificial intelligence in hospitals for the first time, according to the union.

Unionized nurses began picketing in front of some of the largest privately-run hospitals in the city just as the region endured some of the most frigid temperatures seen in years.

Nurses said staffing and safety were among their top issues in contract talks.

They complained their patient loads are unmanageable and sought better security measures in hospitals, particularly after two recent violentincidents.

The union said the new deals reached with Mount Sinai and Montefiore address those concerns by committing the hospitals to increasing staffing levels and new safety measures, such as additional weapons detection systems at entrances, more visitor screening and wearable panic alarms for staff.

The hospitals, for their part, have insisted operations at the affected hospitals have been running smoothly during the strike, with organ transplants, cardiac surgeries and other complex procedures largely uninterrupted.

They brought on thousands of temporary nurses to fill in staffing gaps, and canceled scheduled surgeries, transferred some patients and discharged others in the days ahead of the strike.

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