NEW YORK NURSE: April 2009
by Mark Genovese
The 59 RNs at Ozanam Hall Nursing Home in Queens ratified a 39-month agreement on March 26. The contract is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2009, and runs through March 31, 2012.
Pay increases are 3% each year, effective in April 2009, 2010, and 2011. The uniform allowance is increased to $460 retroactive to Jan. 1, 2009, and increases to $475 on Jan. 1, 2011. The nurses have also won improvements in the overtime approval process and a minimal increase in maximum health insurance premium costs.
A change to the contract, negotiated mid-term, will provide RNs aged 60 and older with 20 years of experience who retire after Feb. 25, 2009, with a $500 cash supplement per year to purchase health insurance. This is applicable until nurses are eligible to receive Medicare benefits or reach the age of 65, whichever comes first. NYSNA represents 74 RNs at St. Elizabeth Ann’s, which is part of the St. Vincent Catholic Medical Center of New York network.
The 116 RNs at this hospital in Manhattan’s East Village ratified a three-year contract, a month before their old contract expired. The contract is effective May 1, 2009, with 3% salary increases each year. Also negotiated was increased clinic staffing and increased compensation for continuing education. Their pension was retained.
RNs employed by Westchester County’s Health and Social Services departments and Community College approved a new three-year contract in February. RNs will receive an increase on the base salary and steps for each year of the agreement. They will receive a 3.25% increase for 2009, and 4% each year for 2010 and 2011. The contract increases the RNs’ uniform allowance, the county payments into the welfare fund, and the maximum retirement payout for sick leave days. Starting in 2010, the RNs will receive flu shots at no cost on work time. There will also be a one-time opportunity for RNs with 15 years’ service to be eligible for a post-retirement health benefit. Otherwise, they will continue to be eligible for this benefit after 20 years. The contract runs through Dec. 31, 2011.
RNs employed by this Central Southern Tier county will receive salary increases of 3% each year in 2010 and 2011, and 4% in 2012, under a new four-year contract, approved March 3. A new step will be added to the top of the salary scale. The county will provide $30 per month to RNs who are required to use their cell phones for work. The RNs will have the option of a 1% of salary bonus for two years or 2% bonus for two years to use upon retirement for the cost of health insurance. The nurses and the county will develop a plan to reduce patient handling injuries. The contract runs through Dec. 31, 2012.
An amendment to the current NYSNA contract at this Oneonta facility provides RNs with an incentive to volunteer to fill open shifts. The amendment will offer full-time and part-time RNs a bonus for working additional shifts beyond their regularly scheduled shifts. Bonuses will be $50 for a four-hour shift, $100 for an eight-hour shift, and $125 for a 12-hour shift.