VALHALLA, N.Y. (October 28, 2022) – Westchester Medical Center and the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) announced a new ratified five-year collective bargaining agreement that will benefit more than 1,500 nurses at Westchester Medical Center, Maria Fareri Children's Hospital, and the Behavioral Health Center. The agreement, which is the result of a strong working relationship and commitment to bargaining in good faith, increases nurse wages, preserves existing healthcare and pension benefits, and offers a new family leave bank for nurses.
"This agreement reflects the essential role of our nurses and their contributions to helping Westchester Medical Center deliver the best patient care, and it underscores our commitment to partnering with the union to prioritize the range of benefits that will help us continue to attract and retain the best nurses – particularly at a time when the healthcare industry is facing a labor shortage nationally," said Phyllis Yezzo, Executive Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive for the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth).
"This new contract will raise nurses' pay by over 27 percent in the next five years. This new pay structure and contract will make Westchester Medical Center a premier destination for union nurses in the metro New York City area—a significant boost for recruiting nurses and for retaining nurses facing stress and fatigue from delivering care in a COVID-19 world. When combined with our new nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, excellent work rules, and expanded leave benefits, we will be well prepared to care for patients and protect the public's health for years to come" said NYSNA Executive Committee President David Long, RN, and NYSNA Treasurer Jayne Cammisa, RN, BSN.
"A new bar has been set for nurse raises and work rules with this new contract. I couldn't be prouder of our Westchester Medical Center public health defenders. They put their lives on the line to defend public health during COVID-19, and this contract respects the heroic efforts of Westchester Medical Center nurses and allows our nurses and communities to heal and turn a new leaf on public health in New York," says NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, CCRN, BSN.
The ratified agreement delivers substantial annual wage increases. Wages will increase September 1st of every year from 2022-2026 (this year's increase will be received retroactively following the ratification announced today). Wages will increase for all NYSNA employees each year according to the following schedule: (8) percent in year one, six (6) percent year in two, five (5) percent in year three and four (4) percent in both years four and five.
The final contract also offers a variety of new incentives aimed at recruiting nurses. These include expanding salary increases for additional years of service – which will benefit the most experienced nurses and new nurses as they continue their careers at Westchester Medical Center – a new nurse practitioner salary schedule, salary increases across all individual nurse distinctions, such as education or certification level, or working non-traditional shifts, and a new family leave bank that will allow individual nurses additional leave options to accommodate life events such as the birth of a child or caring for a sick family member.
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About Westchester Medical Center Health Network
The Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) is a 1,700-bed healthcare system headquartered in Valhalla, New York, with nine hospitals on seven campuses spanning 6,200 square miles of the Hudson Valley. WMCHealth employs more than 13,000 people and has nearly 3,000 attending physicians. The Network has Level I (adult and pediatric), Level II and Level III trauma centers, the region's only acute care children's hospital, an academic medical center, several community hospitals, dozens of specialized institutes and centers, Comprehensive and Primary Stroke Centers, skilled nursing, assisted living facilities, home-care services and one of the largest mental health systems in New York State. Today, WMCHealth is the pre-eminent provider of integrated health care in the Hudson Valley. For more information about WMCHealth, visit WMCHealth.org or follow WMCHealth on Facebook.com/WMCHealth or Instagram.com/WMCHealth.
About NYSNA
The New York State Nurses Association, National Nurses United, AFL-CIO, represents more than 42,000 members in New York State. NYSNA is New York's largest union and professional association for registered nurses. For more information, visit nysna.org.