Nurses at Staten Island University Hospital–South represented by the Federation of Nurses/UFT overwhelmingly ratified a three-year contract on March 27 that raises salaries by a compounded 14%, preserves premium-free health care and increases staffing in key units.

After protracted negotiations, the union filed a strike notice on March 19, breaking an impasse that UFT Vice President Anne Goldman attributed to “corporate greed” and bringing both sides back to the bargaining table to reach an agreement.

“Our nurses are receiving the financial recognition they deserve with an on-time contract that preserves their health care benefits and increases staffing in some of the busiest units,” said Goldman, the head of the Federation of Nurses/UFT, which represents more than 300 nurses at the hospital and over 16,000 statewide.

Bevin Sullivan, a registered nurse and chapter leader at Staten Island University Hospital–South, said the nurses’ persistence over 18 bargaining sessions helped avert a strike and secure the contract gains.

“We were unified, and the power of collective action came through clearly at the negotiating table,” Sullivan said.

A turning point came when nearly 150 union members turned out for a meeting at the Staten Island borough office, demonstrating their resolve. “We made it clear to the employer that we would not be divided,” Sullivan said. “That changed the dynamics during the negotiation.”

The contract provides a 5.25% pay increase effective April 1, 2026, followed by additional pay raises of 4% on April 1, 2027, and April 1, 2028.

It also maintains fully funded, premium-free UFT health benefits for all nurses and adds access to the Northwell Pension Plan for registered nurses, with no reduction in retirement contributions.

Lorraine Davi, a veteran medical-surgical nurse, is particularly proud of how the nurses pulled together in a “watershed moment” of management obstruction and stonewalling for the chapter. “The employer was testing our resolve,” she said, but “we fought for each other. Now they know they’re going to have to deal with us as a group.”

The contract also notched some staffing improvements, with the addition of an RN in the Emergency Department daily from 3 p.m. to 3 a.m. and establishing an average nurse-patient ratio of 1:6 in medical-surgical units.

This is a major win for patients, said Sullivan: “Every time we open a contract negotiation, we’re advocating not just for ourselves but for our patients.”