Contact: Kristi Barnes | press@nysna.org | 646-853-4489
RETIREE NURSES ENTER SECOND DAY OF OCCUPYING NEWYORK-PRESBYTERIAN LOBBY, DEMANDING ADMINISTRATORS RESPECT RETIREES, HONOR AGREED-UPON HEALTHCARE BENEFITS
Speakout and Media Availabilities at 12 Noon with Active and Retiree Nurses
NewYork-Presbyterian Nurses and Retirees Stayed in Lobby Overnight and Pledge to Stay Until Hospital Honors Negotiated Retiree Healthcare Costs, Stops Violating New Contract
New York, NY—Retiree nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital are entering the second day of their speak-out and sit-in to stop management’s attempts to double healthcare rates for retirees and violate the new contract. Active and retired NYSNA members occupied the lobby of the hospital overnight and demanded hospital administrators honor the healthcare premium rates that were confirmed before and after a new contract was ratified.
WHAT: Nurses speak-out to defend retiree healthcare and demand administrators honor agreed-upon healthcare benefits
WHERE: NY-Presbyterian retirees, nurses and allies will gather in the hospital lobby at 177 Ft. Washington Avenue
WHEN: Friday, Jan. 27 at 12 noon
With healthcare enrollment closing at the end of January, active and retired members are mobilizing to demand NewYork-Presbyterian management take swift action to stop violating the new contract, course correct, and provide the quality healthcare that the retirees and their families deserve—and that the parties agreed on.
Retired NewYork-Presbyterian nurse, Amy Rosato, said: "I stayed here all night, and our group of retirees is not leaving until we see a new enrollment form with the rates we negotiated. NewYork-Presbyterian wants to wait for a lengthy legal process meanwhile we have retirees with serious medical conditions who cannot wait."
"I gave my body, my strength, and all my energy to NewYork-Presbyterian," said Soyoung Yoon, retired NewYork-Presbyterian nurse. "Their violation of the contract and it’s impact on retired nurses, who have spent their whole lives here, feels like a betrayal. We cannot accept this contract violation. Further down, it can affect other nurses who are looking to retire. We’re here to express how frustrated we are. We’re dropped like a hot potato by our employer whom we’ve worked for a lifetime. This is unacceptable to me and all the retirees who were looking to have that insurance coverage."
NewYork-Presbyterian nurse Jaiveer Grewal, RN said: “I am an active employee and was part of the negotiations this year. I am appalled that NewYork-Presbyterian is trying to change the rates we negotiated on retirees after we negotiated. We cannot wait for a long legal battle. Retirees need coverage at the rates we bargained and they need it now.”
Yesterday, NYSNA nurses and retirees were joined by supporters and allies including State Senator Robert Jackson who said, “Nurse retirees have given decades of their lives to caring for patients; it’s a damn shame that NYP hospital is violating their contract. This is completely unacceptable. It is imperative that the administration honors what was said and respects the retiree's healthcare plan in their contract!"
###
The New York State Nurses Association represents more than 42,000 members in New York State. We are New York’s largest union and professional association for registered nurses. NYSNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United, AFL-CIO, the country's largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses, with more than 225,000 members nationwide.
For more information, visit nysna.org.
