Nurses at Bronx Montefiore overwhelmingly ratify contract

10-to-1 margin seals new four-year pact

BRONX, Jan. 17, 2012 - Members of the New York State Nurses Association at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx overwhelmingly ratified their new four-year agreement in two days of voting that concluded late Friday evening, January 13.

By a 10-to-1 margin, nurses approved a new contract that meets their bargaining goals: stronger staffing levels to provide quality care for patients, fair wages and affordable prescription benefits,

The agreement will add 125 new professional registered nurses, a 7.5 percent raise over four years, a $750 bonus after ratification and no-cost prescriptions when nurses use the Montefiore pharmacy.

"Our members really stood together to win these gains," said Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, a Montefiore nurse and leader of the union's bargaining unit at the hospital. "We have made important progress in meeting the needs of our patients, our members and their families."

With this contract ratification, NYSNA has settled four major New York City contracts in the past six weeks, covering 10,000 nurses at Montefiore, Mt. Sinai Medical Center, St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

The New York State Nurses Association is the voice for nursing in the Empire State. With more than 37,000 members, it is New York’s largest professional association and union for registered nurses. The association represents registered nurses, and some all-professional bargaining units, in New York and New Jersey. It supports nurses and nursing practice through education, research, legislative advocacy, and collective bargaining.

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