New York — New York City The largest nursing strike in decades is set to end after more than 4,000 nurses seeking better employment and job security at NewYork-Presbyterian reached a tentative contract agreement with management early Friday.
The New York State Nurses Association said union and administrative negotiators at the last three major hospital systems affected by the strike that lasted more than a month had agreed to a tentative deal but did not disclose details.
The proposal now goes to union members for a vote. If approved, nurses will return to work early next week.
“We are pleased to have reached a tentative settlement with NYSNA, through the mediator, which reflects our tremendous respect for our nurses — the settlement remains subject to ratification,” Angela Karafzli, a spokeswoman for the New York Presbyterian Church, said in a statement.
The roughly 4,200 nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian were the last ones left on the picket line During extremely cold temperatures While their union said it was the largest and longest strike by nurses in the city’s history.
“For a month and a half, under some of the harshest weather this city has seen in years, New York nurses have shown this city that they will make no compromises when it comes to patient care,” said Nancy Hagans, NYSNA President. “Our private sector nurses will improve patient care, and their perseverance and endurance have shown people around the world the strength of New York State nurses.”
About 10,500 nurses at Mount Sinai and Montefiore hospitals Ratifying new contracts for a period of three years On February 11. The Montefiore and Mount Sinai deals include a wage increase of more than 12% over three years, the union said.
This deal also preserved health benefits for nurses at no additional out-of-pocket costs, included new protections against workplace violence, especially for nurses and transgender and immigrant patients, and provided safeguards against the use of artificial intelligence in hospitals.
New York-Presbyterian nurses rejected the proposals in the February 11 deal.
The strike began on January 12 at three of the city’s largest and most prestigious private health systems.
Hospitals have hired legions of temporary nurses to fill staffing gaps during illnesses Demanding flu season, Raising concerns Among some of the hospital system’s most vulnerable patients and their families.
During difficult and contentious negotiations, hospitals complained that the union’s demands were unreasonable and exorbitant. The nurses responded to the hospital’s top executives Make millions of dollars annually While nurses are burdened with unmanageable workloads.
An arbitrator this month awarded nearly $400,000 to some nurses at New York-Presbyterian’s Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital for having to work during staffing shortages in 2023 and 2024, the union said, heralding the decision as evidence of the problems that led to the strike. NewYork-Presbyterian responded that “safe staffing is always a priority” and that it has hired hundreds of nurses in the past three years.
The strike did not affect all hospitals in the New York-Presbyterian, Mount Sinai, and Montefiore systems, and nurses at city-run hospitals did not participate. Other private hospitals also reached last-minute deals with the union.
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Associated Press reporters Jennifer Peltz in New York and Bruce Shepkowski in Trenton, New Jersey, contributed.