Negotiations between the hospitals and the New York Professional Nurses Union (NYPNU) continued last week and we are proud of the progress being made toward an agreement for a successor contract. The tone at the table has been amicable and the parties have already reached 17 tentative agreements. We are confident that a final agreement will be reached prior to the expiration date of the current contract, October 31, 2018.

NYPNU has presented many proposals that the hospitals have been reviewing to determine if the requested changes can be done. Some of the things that must be considered are the operational feasibility and the economic impact these proposals would have on the hospitals. On Friday, the hospitals spent a significant amount of time providing a comprehensive response to each of the union’s proposals, many of which are economic in nature. We informed NYPNU that all of their proposals added together would result in a cost to the hospitals of over $142 million.

These are difficult times in health care but we are confident that the futures of Lenox Hill Hospital, MEETH and Lenox Health Greenwich Village are bright. To make sure the hospitals remain the premier facilities they have always been, we have to work together and be fiscally responsible. We have called upon NYPNU to partner with us to negotiate a fair contract that will ensure our nurses continue to receive competitive wage increases and allow them to continue to enjoy the very generous health benefits and pension they always have.

Difficult decisions have to be made during negotiations and both sides are obligated to compromise if we want to reach an agreement that we can all be proud of. During our comprehensive response on Friday, the hospitals had to prioritize those proposals that will help us all to stay both operationally and financially competitive. In doing so, we also considered our own proposals and decided it was best to withdraw our proposal on mandatory overtime and reconsider our proposal to reduce vacation accruals. We know how important these issues are to our nurses and we are listening to you. The hospitals also made a proposal for a four-year agreement with an overall wage increase of 7% over that period of time.

It is for all these reasons that we were disappointed to hear that NYPNU decided to hold a strike authorization vote tomorrow. While we respect NYPNU’s right to call for a strike, we think it would be counterproductive to reaching an amicable resolution at the bargaining table. We encourage you all to vote tomorrow and want to provide you with the answers to the questions we have heard from employees about what it all means. For this reason we have prepared a Questions and Answers document for your review.

It is of the utmost importance to our committee and the hospitals’ leadership team that you remain fully-informed of the status of these negotiations and understand the facts concerning a strike authorization vote. Our managers will be rounding continuously to answer any questions you may have about these topics. They will also have printed copies of this communication and our strike authorization Q&As. Our leadership team will be more than happy to answer any questions you have about these issues.

The parties will be negotiating five days this week, October 17-21, in an effort to reach a final agreement. We encourage you to stay informed by:

• Speaking with your manager,
• Watching for continuing Negotiation Update emails,
• Visiting this website for negotiation updates and other information,
• Signing up for text message alerts by texting NorthwellNYC to 333-111, and
• Communicating with union delegates.

Friday concluded our fourth negotiation session on behalf of our Manhattan sites with the New York Professional Nurses Union (NYPNU). During these sessions the parties have had substantive discussions regarding the proposals made by both sides and have reached tentative agreements on ten items. Based on these discussions, the hospitals have made modifications to a few proposals. Additionally, even though important to the hospitals, we have withdrawn three proposals after considering the union’s position.

The parties spent this fourth session trying to clarify its positions on many of the non-economic issues before we begin to concentrate on the economics of this agreement that will begin tomorrow. A great deal of time was spent discussing the importance of respectful communication and strong relationships to ensure a productive collaborative future.

The hospitals are committed to the future of our nurses and want to ensure that we remain competitive with the other New York hospitals. To that end, we proposed a Clinical Ladder, a program designed to recognize clinical autonomy and professional image, and reward them with financial benefits. We also made a proposal that recognizes the value of RN experience by removing our salary cap for new hires, which currently limits our ability to attract more tenured RNs.

Providing flexibility for both the hospitals and the RNs, while ensuring patient safety, is one of our goals in these negotiations. We have clarified our position on self-scheduling, an important part of our culture that we wish to preserve while also protecting our less experienced RNs. In addition, we proposed a new sustainable shift differential structure, which will allow RNs and the hospitals flexibility in their shifts while at the same time minimizing pay errors.

Finally, both the hospitals and the union have made proposals to align the collective bargaining agreement with State and Federal law. The union has asked to include protections provided for under the National Labor Relations Act while the Hospitals have proposed to utilize the same protections afforded nurses under the New York State Mandatory Overtime law and the New York Safe and Sick Time Act.

Today we began negotiations for a successor collective bargaining agreement with the New York Professional Nurses Union (NYPNU) for Lenox Hill Hospital, MEETH and Lenox Health Greenwich Village (hospitals). Every three years the parties meet and through productive dialogue, collaboration and good faith bargaining, we are able to reach agreement on a successor contract.

NYPNU provided us with its initial 52 proposals and we anticipate receiving the remainder of its proposals in upcoming negotiation sessions. We spent the day having amicable discussions regarding these proposals and look forward to our next session on September 12. We expect at that time to be able to provide the union with the hospitals’ proposals.

We encourage you to stay informed by:

• Speaking with your manager,
• Watching for continuing Negotiation Update emails,
• Visiting this website for negotiation updates and other information,
• Signing up for text message alerts by texting NorthwellNYC to 333-111, and
• Communicating with union delegates.