STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Negotiations took a positive turn at Richmond University Medical Center (RUMC) Tuesday as nurses rescinded their strike threat.
Unionized nurses with the New York State Nurses Association lifted their 10-day strike notice from Friday after management at the West Brighton hospital made some concessions.
According to the union, nurses reached tentative agreements with management at RUMC and five other hospitals on a variety of issues, including healthcare and pension protections, improved hospital safety and limits on the use of artificial intelligence.
Alexander Lutz, a RUMC spokesperson, said the hospital was pleased with the nurses’ decision to lift the strike threat.
“This decision allows us to maintain uninterrupted care for our patients and the communities we serve. We value our nurses and respect the important role they play every day in caring for our patients and their families,” he said. “While contract negotiations are still ongoing, we remain committed to continuing discussions in good faith and working collaboratively toward a fair and sustainable agreement. Our priority remains ensuring safe, high-quality patient care for our entire community.”
NYSNA wrote in a press release that their bargaining teams will continue negotiations through the week and hope to have new contracts settled by Friday.
Though negotiations have taken positive steps at RUMC and the five other hospitals, contract negotiations remain outstanding at several other hospitals around the city where nurses are threatening strikes if deals aren’t reached by Monday.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, a Staten Islander and nurse at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, contrasted the two hospital groups, those who offered concessions and those who have not, for their disparate wealth.
“The safety-net hospitals that care for New York City’s most vulnerable patients are doing the right thing by guaranteeing healthcare benefits for nurses and agreeing to stronger safe staffing standards and protections from workplace violence,” she said. “New York City’s wealthiest hospitals should follow their lead.”
Colloquially, “safety-net hospitals” are those that serve some of the poorest New Yorkers. Largely due to the lack of a public hospital on Staten Island, the borough’s two hospital systems, RUMC and Staten Island University Hospital, are considered “safety-net” hospitals.