New contracts for Montefiore nurses in Westchester, Nyack nurses still voting
Nurses at Montefiore hospitals in Mount Vernon and New Rochelle have ratified new three-year contracts with wage increases and strengthened safe-staffing ratio language, their union said. A third Montefiore hospital, in Nyack, is voting whether to ratify its contract.
The agreements avoid a strike that nurses had voted to authorize in the new year if a deal wasn't reached.
A New York State Nurses Association news release said it reached a tentative deal for more than 400 Montefiore Nyack Hospital nurses after a 24-hour bargaining session and before the Dec. 31 contract expiration. The contract , for the first time, provides for safe-staffing ratios, the release said. Nyack nurses were slated to start voting Tuesday, and the contract would take effect immediately if ratified.
Montefiore Mount Vernon on Dec. 28 ratified its contract and Montefiore New Rochelle ratified on Dec. 29. The contract for both took effect on Jan. 1, the union said. The two hospitals already had safe-staffing ratios, but the new contract strengthened safe-staffing language, according to the union.
The Mount Vernon and New Rochelle contracts include wage increases that bring the nurses in line with pay standards of the Montefiore Bronx facilities, the union said in a previous news release, as well as working condition improvements. There are improved healthcare benefits and the agreement upholds the NYSNA pension at no added cost, according to the union. There are increased tuition refunds and new mentorship programs, and increased pay for added responsibilities.
The union said that for Montefiore Nyack Hospital the tentative agreement being voted on includes:
Contractual safe staffing ratios, with what the union called an “improved pathway to hold management accountable for patient safety.”
Wage increases that average 14% in the first year, and up to 20% for new nurses in year-one to help recruit more of them.
Inclusion in the NYSNA pension, a goal Nyack nurses have sought for decades.
Recognition of Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Jr. Day as celebrated holidays.
Improved tuition reimbursement and pay differentials for certain specialized roles.
“I could not be prouder of these nurses, who demonstrated tremendous solidarity and resolve through months of difficult negotiations,” Nancy Hagans, NYSNA president, said in the statement. “When nurses fight, we win for our patients and our profession. The landmark gains in this tentative agreement will help our nurses deliver the quality care every community deserves.”
Anna Maria Perkins, Montefiore Nyack’s bargaining unit president, said: “Nurses at Nyack have been struggling to achieve safe staffing ratios, competitive wages and better benefits that will help fill nurse vacancies and retain nurses for quality care. Better benefits like the NYSNA pension will help retain nurses and demonstrate respect for the hard work we do. This agreement finally puts Nyack nurses in line with wages and benefits of other Montefiore facilities and that should make a huge difference in retaining nurses and improving working conditions and quality care for our patients.”
On Dec. 19, about 96% of the three hospitals' nurses voted to authorize a strike after the Dec. 31 contract expiration. A union spokesperson said the nurses had not delivered a 10-day strike notice, which meant a precise strike date had not been set.
Michael McKinney covers growth and development for The Journal News and USA Today Network in Westchester County and the Lower Hudson Valley.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Montefiore nurses in Westchester get new contracts, Nyack is voting
