The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) has reached a tentative contract agreement with NewYork-Presbyterian, signaling a potential end to the longest nurses strike in New York City history.
The two sides started bargaining at 11 a.m. Thursday. Just after midnight, there was an announcement of a tentative deal.
This is the second tentative settlement after nurses overwhelmingly voted down a proposal last week. Nurses still have to vote to ratify the deal.
Why NYC nurses went on strike
About 15,000 nurses from several NewYork-Presbyterian, Mount Sinai and Montefiore hospitals began their strike back on Jan. 12 after contract negotiations with the privately run hospitals failed.
The union said nurses were fighting for pay raises, health care coverage, safe staffing levels and protections from workplace violence.
Nurses walked the picket line for over four weeks, at times in frigid temperatures.
The hospitals brought in temporary travel nurses to ensure there was no disruption to patient care, and reported that some nurses did cross the picket line and continued to work.
Partial end to NYC nurses strike
On Feb. 9, NYSNA reached a tentative contract agreement with the three hospital systems, and on Feb. 10, Mount Sinai and Montefiore nurses voted to ratify the contracts, ending the strike for about 10,500 nurses.
NewYork-Presbyterian nurses, however, voted to reject their tentative agreement and mediator’s proposal.
Mount Sinai and Montefiore nurses began returning to work on Feb. 14, while more than 4,200 nurses from NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital continued to strike into a fifth week.
The union said the new three-year contract maintains benefits for nurses, and includes salary raises, safeguards against artificial intelligence and safe staffing standards to protect both nurses and patients. Â