NYC nursing walkout ends as last striking nurses approve new contract

NEW YORK (AP) — Nurses at a big New York hospital system approved a new contract Saturday, voting to end a major nursing strike after more than a month.

More than 4,000 nurses in the privately run NewYork-Presbyterian system went on strike Jan. 12. They are now due to start returning to work in the coming week. The union, called the New York State Nurses Association, said 93% of its members at NewYork-Presbyterian voted to ratify the three-year contract.

Two other big private hospital systems, Montefiore and Mount Sinai, ended their nurses’ walkout earlier this month by inking contract agreements with the same union.

“We are so happy with the wins we achieved, and now the fight to enforce these contracts and hold our employers accountable begins,” union President Nancy Hagans said in a statement Saturday.

NewYork-Presbyterian said that it looked forward to its nurses' return and that the contract "reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play as part of our exceptional care teams.”

Both sides had said Friday that they had reached a tentative deal. Union members voted on it Friday and Saturday.

Provisions included staffing improvements, raises topping 12% over three years and safeguards on the use of artificial intelligence, according to the union.

The union has said the strike initially involved about 15,000 nurses overall at Montefiore, Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian. It affected only some facilities within the three systems and didn't involve any city-run hospitals.

During the strike, Montefiore, Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian brought on thousands of temporary nurses, transferred some patients and canceled some procedures. The hospitals insisted they were smoothly delivering care, including complex surgeries. But some vulnerable patients and their families said some routine tasks took longer.

The strikers complained of unmanageable workloads and accused the hospitals of trying to chip away at health benefits. The hospitals contested those claims and said the union’s demands were exorbitant.

Nurses at some Mount Sinai and Montefiore hospitals also walked out in 2023. That strike ended in three days.