Striking New York City nurses reach deal with hospitals

Two hospitals have reached a tentative contract agreement with thousands of striking nurses, the nurses' union announced on Thursday.

The nurses, represented by the New York State Nurses Association, walked out early on Monday after negotiations with management ran aground at Mount Sinai Hospital, in Manhattan, and Montefiore Medical Centre, in the Bronx.

Each has over 1,000 beds and 3,500 or more union nurses.

The union has stressed staffing levels as a key concern, saying that nurses who laboured through the gruelling peak of the coronavirus pandemic are stretched far too thin because too many jobs are open.

Nurses say they have had to work overtime, handle twice as many patients as they should, and skip meals and even bathroom breaks.

The privately owned, nonprofit hospitals say they have been grappling with a widespread nursing shortage that was exacerbated by the pandemic.

Several other private hospitals around the city reached deals with the union as the strike deadline loomed. The agreements included raises totalling 19 per cent over three years.

Mount Sinai and Montefiore said before the strike that they had offered the same pay boosts.

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