The Federation of Nurses/UFT successfully negotiated its second contract in less than 30 days when NYU Lutheran Medical Center nurses ratified a contract on Feb. 23 with no givebacks. This was the first time the union had negotiated with this management team since the takeover by New York University last year.

With approximately three-quarters of the membership voting, the nurses approved a contract that protected their defined-benefit pension and their no-premium health care.

“NYU Lutheran nurses set their priorities for their negotiating committee, and the contract delivered on those demands,” said Anne Goldman, the vice president for non-Department of Education employees and the head of the negotiating team.

Visiting Nurse Service nurses represented by the union also ratified a two-year contract on Jan. 29 [see story below].

The NYU Lutheran team negotiated a raise of just over 6 percent for the 800 nurses over the two-year life of the contract. The first raise of 1.5 percent is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2016. The next raises, in 1.5 percent increments, kick in over the next two years.

NYU Lutheran management agreed to improve the nurse/patient ratio in several units as well as to improve staffing ratios in other units during the life of the contract.

Another win for the NYU Lutheran nurses is that the new contract increases the maximum tuition reimbursement 25 percent to $10,000 per year.

“I have never seen so many nurses come in on their day off to vote,” said Renee Setteducato, the chapter leader for the NYU Lutheran nurses, who has been a member of the chapter for 44 years. “We sent a message to our nurses that their votes are their voices, and they heard us.”

After the vote, Setteducato said, “Nurses were hugging us and thanking us. They got that we didn’t give up on them, that we fought for them.”

Goldman and Setteducato praised the NYU Lutheran rank-and-file negotiating committee’s work, calling the members tenacious and courageous for how they spoke to the managers during the bargaining and for staying united.

In another important gain, management will now acknowledge the nurses’ role in NYU Lutheran’s pilot participation in the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey, which measures patient satisfaction with a hospital experience.

“The administration and managers are always recognized for their work in this, and now our work will be recognized with the nurses receiving pay for their participation in this pilot,” said Goldman.

The surveys inform the federal government’s creation of benchmarks for patient satisfaction. “We are going to focus on these scores so we can achieve best outcomes for our patients and put into place best practices,” Goldman said.S

See the contract vote photo gallery »