Striking NYC nurses, hospitals reach agreement to maintain health care benefits
The New York City nurses strike is not over, but an agreement has been reached with the hospitals to maintain health care benefits, according to the nurses union.
The New York State Nurses Association said in a statement Sunday, in part, that the deal cleared "a major hurdle" in its ongoing negotiations with Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside and West, and NewYork-Presbyterian.
"NYSNA nurses fought and cleared a major hurdle on one of the key sticking points in bargaining -- maintaining health benefits for frontline nurses and our families. Working through mediators, Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian agreed to maintain the current high-quality NYSNA Plan A health coverage without cuts. Hospitals and NYSNA must still reach final tentative contract agreements," NYSNA said. "NYSNA nurses at all four hospitals are ready and willing to bargain in good faith on other priority issues to settle fair contracts whenever mediators call us back to the table."
"Through the mediator, NYSNA and hospital leadership have agreed on a process wherein the Trustees of the Health Benefits Plan will form a committee to work on potential savings and programs in our nurses' healthcare plan," NewYork-Presbyterian said in a statement.
A representative of Montefiore Hospital said health care benefits were never on the bargaining table there in the first place.
The 15,000 nurses on strike are also demanding that the hospitals give better pay, increase staffing, and offer better protections against workplace violence.
The hospitals have maintained the nurses' demands are unreasonable.
Nurses returned to the bargaining table on Thursday, NYSNA said, but no deal was reached on the then-11th day of the strike.
NYSNA said the nurses will remain on strike "until we reach full tentative contract agreements that protect patient and nurse safety," added picketing will resume on Tuesday, following the weekend's massive snowstorm that is expected to impact the city into Monday.
