NEW YORK NURSE: December 2010
by Mark Genovese
The 120 RNs at this Westchester hospital will continue to be covered by the NYSNA Pension Plan, after NYSNA waged a successful campaign that included a public candlelight protest, numerous grievances, media advertising, and enlisting the help of local elected officials to place political pressure on hospital administration. Management had fallen six months behind in paying its share into the pension fund, due to the hospital’s long-standing financial problems. A restructuring plan was announced in mid-November to save the hospital from closure, but some nursing positions will be eliminated. The majority of the RNs affected will be able to retain employment within the hospital. Given this situation, having the NYSNA pension plan in place will be an important tool in helping the hospital recruit and retain its nurses. The nurses will soon enter negotiations for a full contract.
The 18 RNs at this North County hospital will receive annual salary increases of three percent under a new, three-year agreement approved on Oct. 29. This contract also remedies an inequity that had per diems paid as much as $7 below similarly experienced full- and part-time RNs. Per diems are now placed on the base compensation rate schedule at a step that corresponds to their experience at the hospital and in the bargaining unit, and will receive a differential to put them above scale.