City nurses reach tentative agreement with HHC

25-month deal gives nurses substantial pay hikes

NEW YORK, Oct. 18, 2007 – Registered nurses employed by the Health and Hospitals Corporation and mayoral agencies reached a tentative agreement Wednesday with the City of New York.

The 7,100 RNs are represented by the New York State Nurses Association. Their current contract expires on Nov. 30. The new agreement will run for 25 months and 20 days, from Dec. 1, 2007, to Jan. 20, 2010. Ratification votes will take place at facilities system-wide on Oct. 25.

“This contract will substantially increase City nurses’ salaries, which will help alleviate staffing problems by retaining experienced nurses and recruiting new hires,” said Nancy Kaleda, senior associate director of the Nurses Association’s collective bargaining program.

Starting salaries for staff nurses will now be competitive with the private sector, beginning at about $66,000 for new RNs as of July 1, 2008. The salaries of the most senior staff nurse will now be in the range of $90,000 or more, without including other salary differentials.

The nurses also completed negotiations prior to expiration of the current agreement. The last contract had expired almost three years before it was settled.

“City nurses were determined to not allow that to happen again,” Kaleda added.

“The nurses feel they can now focus on improving patient care by working with the city instead of spending our time at the bargaining table.”

Terms of the agreement include:

Compensation

General wages: A 2% increase on Jan. 1, 2008; 5% on July 1, 2008; for a total compounded increase of 7.1%.
Longevity scale: An addition on Jan. 1, 2008, to all experience scales of a new Step 22, in the amount of $1,000.
Differentials: An increase in the certification differential on Dec. 1, 2007, from $500 to $1,378.
Outside experience: Starting Jan. 1, 2008, an increase in the cap on outside experience from five years to 10 years. All new hires will receive up to 10 years experience credit. All incumbents will be made whole for prior nursing experience. They will receive credit prospectively for up to five years of experience, up to Step 21, which is the current experience maximum.

Benefits

Welfare fund: A $100-per-member recurring increase as of Dec. 1, 2007; and a one-shot payment of $166.67 per member on April 1, 2008.
Expanded Metrocard benefits.
Improved language on the implementation of patient classification systems; the use of the Professional Practice Committee to discuss recruitment, retention, and work issues; and to give input in the selection of new equipment and technology.

If the agreement is ratified, it will take effect on Dec. 1, 2007.

With more than 34,000 members, NYSNA is the oldest and largest state nurses’ association in the nation. It is an influential union for RNs, representing nurses in New York and New Jersey. Offering a wide range of services to its members, NYSNA fosters high standards of nursing education and practice and works to advance the profession through legislative activity. It is a constituent of the American Nurses Association and of the United American Nurses, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.

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