The New York Nurses Affiliation (NYSNA) says they nonetheless plan on putting this Friday, Jan. 9, after negotiations with hospitals have fallen by, the group revealed.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans charged Wednesday that roughly 16,000 NYSNA nurses at eight hospitals together with: New York Presbyterian, Montefiore, Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside and West, Maimonides, BronxCare, Richmond College Medical Middle, and Flushing Hospital Medical Middle are able to strike subsequent week. This got here after the union delivered a 10-day discover of the strike on Dec. 30.
“Unfortunately, after months of negotiation, our bosses have given us no other option than to exercise our right to strike,” Hagans started. “A 10-day notice gives hospitals time to plan care for patients while nurses are on strike. But the best way for management to protect patients is to listen to nurses and settle a fair contract and protect our patients.”
The putting threat comes as a results of a drum that nurses have been banging for years now, probably the most notable of which is secure staffing (a ratio of 1 to 2 nurses in ICU and one to 4 in med-surg). Healthcare staff state that they’ve a far bigger affected person load than they will bear, one thing they state places sufferers in danger.
Moreover, because the COVID-19 pandemic nurses underscore that they’ve been on the entrance strains bearing the brunt of the illness each mentally and bodily. They cite affected by lengthy COVID, as properly as the trauma induced by the lethal virus has left them exhausted. With this in thoughts, NYSNA calls therapy from hospital administration nothing wanting disrespectful.
“We are in the midst of a nursing staffing crisis that employers created and have failed to address which has gotten worse since the pandemic began. Chronic understaffing in New York hospitals is unsafe for nurses and our patients. Our bosses created a short staffing crisis by failing to hire and return enough nurses at our facilities, leaving the rest of us to work short staffed. Hospitals have not done enough to keep nurses at the bedside. Nurses have been to hell risking our lives to save lives of our patient,” Hagans mentioned.
Whereas the strike is about to happen subsequent week, one hospital is pushing to make a change. Hagans congratulated New York Presbyterian Hospital, which incorporates 4,000 NYSNA nurses, after reaching a tentative settlement on Dec. 31, hours earlier than their contract expired. This settlement consists of higher staffing ratios within the emergency room. It’s now as much as the nurses to vote on whether or not they are going to ratify the brand new contract.
“NYSNA urges the other hospitals to follow New York Presbyterian’s lead and negotiate in good faith for fair contract that respects nurses and patients by delivering safe staffing and fair wages and benefits,” Hagans mentioned.
Hagans claims that many New York hospitals have participated in unfair and illegal conduct by making an attempt to silence nurses from discussing the necessity of employees staffing with the media, bargaining in unhealthy religion, threatening Registered Nurses (RNs) who’ve come ahead with their grievances, and interfering with union rights. Calls for concerning the brand new contract—which can cowl the subsequent three years—should embrace truthful wages to recruit, nurse retention, cease the cuts on advantages, security safety, neighborhood advantages, native coaching and extra, the union stresses.
The NYSNA state they are going to present every day updates on the method as the date of the strike attracts nearer.
In regard to the continuing contract negotiations, Joe Solmonese the Senior Vice President at Montefiore launched the next assertion calling the hospital’s supply beneficiant.
“New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) leadership at Montefiore refuses to come to an agreement despite a generous offer that includes an 18% wage increase, fully funded healthcare for life, and a significant increase in registered nurses in the emergency departments, among other benefits,” Solmonese mentioned.
“This equitable offer mirrors the tentative agreement NYSNA union leadership reached with New York Presbyterian, even as we continue to face significant financial challenges from COVID-19. Montefiore lost nearly $600 million over the course of the pandemic. Last year alone, we lost $200 million. New York Presbyterian, on the other hand, posted net profits of roughly $200 million in 2022. Despite the financial challenges that we continue to face, we believe that our nurses’ work has equal value to that of their colleagues in neighboring systems,” Solmonese mentioned.