As the New York City nurses strike — the largest of its kind in the city’s history — continues into its fourth week, the union and hospitals involved say progress is being made in negotiations.
Nearly 15,000 nurses have been on strike at Montefiore Health System, Mount Sinai Health System and NewYork-Presbyterian since Jan. 12. Bargaining continued Feb. 5, spokespersons from Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian told Becker’s.
Here are five updates to know:
1. Most recently, tentative agreements were reached on artificial intelligence protections at all four hospitals, according to a Feb. 5 news release from the New York State Nurses Association, which represents the nurses at all three health systems. Several additional tentative agreements were also reached on noneconomic issues.
The hospitals with striking nurses are Montefiore Medical Center, Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside/Mount Sinai West, and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia University Medical Center.
2. Key issues in negotiations have remained focused on safe staffing standards and workplace violence protections. The union said all hospitals except NewYork-Presbyterian have made “inadequate” counterproposals on workplace violence protections.
3. In a joint statement shared with Becker’s on Jan. 31, the three systems said they made an economic proposal with annual raises and continued benefits.
“Today we made a fair, reasonable, and responsible economic proposal that provides annual wage increases and continues generous healthcare and pension benefits, under an economic structure that works for all of the parties and the safety-net hospitals that are tied to our economic terms,” the systems said. “We are now assessing the rest of the union’s proposals so that we can respond with a comprehensive settlement offer in order to end the strike and bring our nurses back.”
4. NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, BSN, RN, said Feb. 2 that the union has consolidated and revised proposals to focus on key issues and moved wage proposals in hopes of reaching a fair agreement.
“But, instead of bargaining in good faith, the bosses at Montefiore, Mount Sinai, and NewYork-Presbyterian presented proposals today that show their disregard and disrespect for nurses and the patients we care for,” Ms. Hagans said.
5. In a Jan. 30 update, Mount Sinai CEO Brendan Carr, MD, said because progress at the bargaining table remains slow, the system has extended its staffing contracts for another few weeks to ensure no interruption in services.
The system is also continuing to care for a routine volume of patients throughout the strike. Dr. Carr said emergency rooms saw 93% of its expected volumes Jan. 29, ambulatory practices saw 89%, outpatient cancer practices saw 98% and birth volumes reached 106% of expected levels.
The post New York City nurses strike reaches 4th week: 5 updates appeared first on Becker's Hospital Review | Healthcare News & Analysis.
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