When a mediator presented a proposal to striking NewYork-Presbyterian nurses and hospital management on Sunday, Feb. 8, the elected rank-and-file representatives at the bargaining table didn\u2019t like what they saw.<\/p>\n
Securing improved nurse-to-patient ratios in the new contract has been a major priority for the New York State Nurses Association, and staff at NewYork-Presbyterian have been pushing the hospital to agree to enforcement language that matches what their colleagues at Mount Sinai and Montefiore have already won.<\/p>\n
Among other issues, the mediator\u2019s proposal, which the union\u2019s representatives rejected, offered only about half as many new hires as the union was asking for, said neonatal nurse Beth Loudin, who sits on the NewYork-Presbyterian executive committee.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The nurses ultimately turned down the contract by a resounding margin<\/a> on Wednesday, following a tense skirmish with union leadership, who forced a vote<\/a> over the objections of rank-and-file nurses holding out for a better deal. (Mount Sinai and Montefiore nurses approved their tentative agreements by wide margins, and will return to work by Feb. 14.)<\/p>\n NewYork-Presbyterian now stands as the only hospital still on strike as nurses enter their second month on the picket line. As of Friday afternoon, the two sides and their mediator had not yet agreed on dates for further negotiations.<\/p>\n Patrick Kline, a cath lab nurse and strike captain at NewYork-Presbyterian Milstein, said he believes the vote results delivered a mandate and granted nurses significant leverage as they head back to the bargaining table.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s what people have learned through this process \u2014 that we, the rank and file, are the union, and that if we\u2019re not happy, we hold elections,\u201d Kline said. \u201cWe want our nurses and jobs protected, and we want more nurses to safely care for our patients. That\u2019s what it\u2019s coming down to.\u201d<\/p>\n The tentative agreement included the same 12% salary increases that the union secured in its earlier deals with Mount Sinai and Montefiore<\/a> and preserved the healthcare and pension benefits the union and NewYork-Presbyterian locked in weeks ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n But staffing remains the heart of the nurses\u2019 demands.\u00a0<\/p>\n