The Federation of Nurses/UFT members at Staten Island University Hospital–South overwhelmingly voted in late December to ratify a renegotiated contract that provides additional wage and step increases.

After months of advocacy on the part of the union, SIUH Northwell Health agreed to take the unusual step of reopening the contract to renegotiate fair compensation for the nurses, said UFT Vice President Anne Goldman, the head of the Federation of Nurses/UFT.

“We don’t want to fall behind,” she said. “We want to recruit, retain and reward our members. We said that to the employer and we’d been saying that for a couple of months, and the employer finally said, ‘You’re right.’ ”

The revised contract, which members voted to approve on Dec. 19, “makes our members competitive in a labor market that is tight with a nursing shortage,” she said.

The revised contract extends the union’s three-year contract by a year, through March 31, 2026. The original contract called for a third 3% annual increase, starting on April 1, 2024; the new one provides a 5% hike and pushed forward the date the increase takes effect to Jan. 1, 2024. Members will receive another 5% pay increase on Jan. 1, 2025, for a compounded increase of 16.96% over the life of the now four-year contract.

The revised contract also includes an increase of $1,100 for each annual salary step on Jan. 1, 2024, and an additional $1,150 bump to each step on Jan. 1, 2025, as well as a $1,000 one-time bonus for all members on Jan. 1, 2025.

“Staff is thankful and excited to feel appreciated by not only the union but our employer,” said Jake Perez, a float nurse at the hospital who was on the negotiating team. “It was very tough to come to an agreement, and there was a lot of back and forth, but I think we’re all happy with the result.”

Staten Island University Hospital–South Chapter Leader Bevin Sullivan, an emergency room nurse, said Northwell Health’s willingness to reopen negotiations shows the positive partnership the Federation of Nurses/UFT has with the health system.

“Nurses feel so overworked and unheard at times, and this helps morale,” she said of the revised contract.

It is uncommon for an employer to agree to reopen contract negotiations, especially since these nurses were already due raises for this year, Goldman said. But Northwell and other hospital employers in the region have announced significant contract agreements and settlements with other unions that changed the labor landscape since the last contract with SIUH Northwell Health was signed in March 2022.

“Anybody who knows anything about contracts should be oohing and aahing,” Goldman said.