NEW YORK NURSE: November 2009
Registered nurses at Flushing Hospital Medical Center in Queens approved a new two-and-a-half-year contract on Sept. 28. The 427 RNs now have a contract retroactive to July 1, 2009, and concluding on Dec. 31, 2011.
Highlights include 2% salary increases, added to the base pay, on Oct. 5, 2009 and Jan. 2, 2011. Three steps were added on the experience scale, the first since 1997. Most important, NYSNA health benefits and pension have been secured for the duration of the contract. The retiree healthcare stipend has increased from $750 to $1,000 a year.
A pilot program in the telemetry department will implement a 12-hour schedule. Under a new provision, nurses will not be assigned to float after 90 minutes into their shifts. Nurses with 20 years seniority will be eligible for floating only if all other nurses on the unit have more than 20 years of experience, as well.
Registered nurses at this Watertown facility approved a new three-year contract on Oct. 15 that calls for a signing bonus program to improve nurse recruitment. Wages for the 350 RNs will increase 2.5% in the first year, 3% in the second, and a 3.5% in the third. The contract also includes increases in differentials for specified certifications and for working the evening and night shifts.