NYSNA’s Updates
Montefiore Weiler Nurses Win Staffing Arbitration!
(Email Update May 23, 2025)
This week, nurses on the 10 North medical surgical unit of Montefiore Weiler hospital fought back against understaffing on their unit and won! Patient acuity had increased on the unit, and management increased bed capacity but not staff. The unit had up to four hallway beds, where Montefiore sometimes assigns patients who cannot safely access a restroom and who should be in isolation due to potential infectious diseases. Hallway patients do not have a call bell but rather need to use a bellhop-type bell or yell for assistance, making caring for these patients a challenge for nurses.
Nurses filed 150 protests of assignment, and five nurses gave compelling testimony describing the high acuity and difficulties in providing patient care that they experience on a daily basis. The arbitrator found that there was a pattern of understaffing on the unit, which created an excessive workload for nurses, and awarded a total of $84,515. Congratulations, Monte nurses!
Montefiore Bronx Nurse Wins Better Staffing Through Arbitration
(Email Update April 11, 2025)
Montefiore Bronx nurses in the medical-surgical/step down unit have won an arbitration over safe staffing! Since the victory, nurses only have to threaten to file a Protest of Assignment to get management to change staffing conditions in their unit, showing that when there are consequences and an enforcement process, hospital executives will comply. This is the 12th arbitration that NYSNA nurses have filed and won in Montefiore since their historic contract victory in 2023. Congratulations, Montefiore Bronx nurses, for fighting for patients and holding management accountable!
Labor Education: Spring 2025 Trainings
(Email Update April 4, 2025)
In preparation for contract negotiations later this year, about 80 nurses from the Bronx (BronxCare and Montefiore) attended an online training on Monday, March 24, to find out why we need a powerful Contract Action Team (CAT), a member-to-member network, to win a strong contract. Key lessons from the training include CAT members’ responsibility to talk to and organize 10 co-workers on their unit during the contract campaign and how important it is for CAT members to round on other units to help build the network. Finally, CATs from the 2022 contract fight described how they built power so the boss knew that the bargaining committee had organized nurses who were ready to show the hospital how serious they were.
Montefiore Nurses Speak Out to Save Hospital Beds in the Bronx
(Email Update February 28, 2025)
On Friday, Feb. 28, Montefiore Bronx nurses spoke out to save hospital beds and services and end overcrowding in the emergency departments and hospital floors at Montefiore Moses and Weiler. You can watch the Facebook livestream here. CIR/SEIU healthcare workers and community and elected allies — including Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Northwest Bronx Community Clergy Coalition, Mekong NYC and New York Nonviolent Medicaid Army — joined NYSNA nurses to oppose Montefiore's recent “restructuring” plan that could negatively impact patient care in the Bronx. Montefiore plans to eliminate hospital beds and some essential healthcare services, including some surgical and palliative care services, at Montefiore Moses in the Bronx.
Nurses are demanding that Montefiore preserve beds and services at Moses and end overcrowding in Bronx hospitals. Right now, Montefiore Moses and Weiler have overcrowded emergency departments and patients waiting in hallways for care — a situation that has gotten worse since last year. There are already not enough beds for patients on the hospital floors, and “overflow” patients are placed in areas not intended for patient care. NYSNA nurses have met with New York elected officials, attended community board meetings, organized actions inside their facilities, and worked to gain community support to save these beds and keep services in the Bronx. They are showing Montefiore management that they will not stop until Bronx patients receive the dignity and quality care they deserve.
Montefiore Nurses Bring Attention to ED Overcrowding With Sticker Action
(Email Update February 21, 2025)
On Tuesday, Feb. 18, NYSNA nurses, CIR SEIU residents and 1199 healthcare workers at all Montefiore emergency departments in the Bronx stickered up calling on management to “Save Our Beds.” The Bronx is in danger of losing hospital beds and essential services after Montefiore management announced a “restructuring” plan that will eliminate hospital beds and move surgical services out of the Bronx. Healthcare professionals know that reducing beds will lead to longer wait times and result in more patients in the hallways. Nurses have been working overtime to bring attention to this issue at community board meetings and with New York elected officials. They participated in this action to show solidarity and unity among workers in these facilities also fighting to make sure Bronx patients get the quality care they need and deserve. They plan to speak out on Feb. 28 to make their voices heard loud and clear.
Montefiore Nurses Meet With Assembly Member to Bring Attention to ED Overcrowding
(Email Update February 14, 2025)
On Friday, Feb. 7, Montefiore nurses met with Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz, whose district includes Montefiore facilities in the Bronx, to let him know their community is in danger of losing hospital beds and essential services after Montefiore management, at the end of 2024, announced a “restructuring” plan. Nurses are asking for the support of elected officials and community leaders in the Bronx to prevent the elimination of 16 hospital beds and palliative care services at a time when emergency rooms at Montefiore are filled beyond capacity and patients are waiting in hallways for care. The plan will also potentially move surgical services elsewhere in the Bronx or to its suburban campuses, reducing access to services. Nurses shared their concerns that reducing beds will add longer wait times and increase hallway patients.
Montefiore nurses will continue to speak out against management’s plans and the disproportionate impact it will have on an underserved population in the Bronx.
Staffing Victory: Montefiore Nurses Win Arbitration Award!
(Email Update February 7, 2025)
On Jan. 24, medical/surgical nurses at Montefiore Weiler Hospital won a safe staffing arbitration award. The arbitrator found 88 violations that he referred to as “a pattern of understaffing which negatively impacted the nurses by creating an excessive workload” and awarded $55,947.60 to the 75 understaffed nurses to remedy those violations. He also held that the record established “higher-than-usual patient acuity or unsafe working conditions,” relying in large part on protests of assignments (POAs) as an “essential piece of evidence.”
This victory is a direct result of the great work that the Montefiore nurses did to record staffing issues and their active participation throughout the arbitration process. Nurses testified in detail regarding the POAs they filed and the serious impact on patient care when their 1:5 ratio is not met. Congratulations, Montefiore nurses, for continuing to hold management accountable to safe staffing to ensure patients are receiving the care, dignity and respect they deserve!
Montefiore Nurses Speak Out at Community Board Meeting Against Bed and Service Closures
(Email Update January 31, 2025)
Nurses are sounding the alarm about the Bronx being in danger of losing hospital beds and essential services after Montefiore management announced a “restructuring” plan. Montefiore nurses are making the community aware of the plan’s negative impact on patients, which includes the elimination of 16 hospital beds, the elimination of palliative care services, and moving surgical services elsewhere in the Bronx or to its suburban campuses. Meanwhile, Montefiore’s emergency rooms are filled beyond capacity, and patients are waiting in hallways for care. NYSNA nurses are concerned that reducing beds will add longer wait times and more hallway patients to a facility that already struggles to serve a vulnerable population.
NYSNA nurses attended Community Board 7’s meeting to make local leaders and the community aware of Montefiore’s plans and were met with support and concern. Nurses are also planning on meeting with elected officials and other allies to stop this so-called “restructuring” plan and ensure Bronx patients don’t suffer any losses in services.
Montefiore Nurses Petition Against Moses Hospital Bed Reduction
(Email Update November 22, 2024)
On Thursday, Nov. 21, forty nurses marched to Montefiore's executive offices to demand that management reverse plans to reduce beds at Moses Hospital. Armed with a petition signed by 1,500 supporters, the nurses warned that cutting med-surg and step-down beds would worsen overcrowding and compromise patient care. The nurses requested to meet with Dr. Peter Semczuk, the executive overseeing the restructuring. However, he declined to meet them and instead sent a nursing director in his place.
“This restructuring plan will mean fewer beds, more hallway patients, overcrowded emergency departments, and unsafe conditions,” said Eddie Afful, RN, a Montefiore nurse whose palliative care unit is slated for closure. Afful also criticized the use of hospital space for executive offices instead of patient care. “We demand that Montefiore prioritize patients by increasing beds and reopening closed units for care,” he said.
Safe Staffing Victories Stack Up at Montefiore
(Email Update August 23, 2024)
In one month, NYSNA nurses in three Montefiore Medical Center units won safe staffing arbitration awards. At the Weiler/Einstein Hospital, a cardiac telemetry unit and a medical-surgical oncology floor, celebrated two staffing awards. The Moses campus, a family medicine palliative care unit, also celebrated a staffing win.
“This outcome is a significant step toward ensuring safer working conditions and high-quality patient care,” said Adarsh Mathew, RN. “NYSNA has an unwavering commitment to protecting our rights and advocating for fair staffing practices.”
Montefiore nurses have put forward eight staffing cases since the 2023 strike and have won every time. Arbitrators have awarded $290,000 in financial awards to the Montefiore nurses who worked understaffed. The bedrock of each of these successful cases are strong protest of assignments and compelling testimony from nurses describing the effects of understaffing.
The staffing arbitration wins are also shifting management’s behavior. At the Moses palliative care unit, nurses were outraged and spoke out when management began placing patients in their hallway. After the staffing case began, management stopped this inappropriate patient placement.
Labor Education Training
(Email Update July 26, 2024)
On Friday, July 19, NYSNA leaders and newly elected Convention delegates from Montefiore Bronx facilities met to learn more about their representational role, including their Weingarten rights, covered in Member Leader Training Part 2. They also learned how to prepare and get the most out of labor-management meetings (covered in Member Leader Training Part 4). They closed out the day reviewing documents from the Oct. 29-30, 2024 “We Are Unstoppable” 2024 NYSNA Convention website. There will be another training on Aug. 14 for other Montefiore Bronx leaders and new Convention delegates.
NYSNA Members Join CIR Residents in Rally for a Fair Contract!
(Email Update July 12, 2024)
Nearly a year ago, residents and physicians at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx unionized after winning their union in a landslide. Since then, Montefiore administration has failed to deliver a contract, and resident salaries are falling not only behind their peers in the Bronx but also behind all other New York City resident programs. CIR-SEIU members are continuing to fight for a fair contract — not just for themselves but also for the safe, quality patient care that their Bronx community deserves.
This week, NYSNA members joined CIR members and community allies to come together for a Unity Break to turn up the heat on Montefiore management to agree to a fair contract. Solidarity with CIR resident physicians!
Albert Einstein College of Medicine Nurses Ratify Contract!
(Email Update July 5, 2024)
Nurses at Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM) unanimously voted to ratify a new contract on Wednesday, July 3. NYSNA nurses won commitments for funding the NYSNA pension and NYSNA healthcare plan. The contract also improves retirement benefits and adds Juneteenth as a holiday. Finally, nurses secured competitive wage increases to ensure recruitment and retention in the facility.
While management initially resisted nurses’ demands for wages and improved retirement benefits, nurses went above and beyond to make it happen. They collected petitions and hand-delivered them to the dean with demands that nurses be respected. They distributed leaflets to the campus community — including students, residents, physicians and researchers — that described their fight and organized their support. They showed up to the bargaining table, wrote letters of support, and coordinated with nurses and executive committee members from Montefiore’s main campus in a display of mutual support and solidarity. Their commitment to a fair contract paid off, and they plan on coordinating with Montefiore’s Main Campus committee in next year’s negotiations to combine forces and show once again the strength Monte nurses have when they unite for a fair contract.
Congratulations, AECOM nurses, on this well-deserved victory!
Montefiore Hutch Nurses Fight for Pediatric Patient Safety
(Email Update May 24, 2024)
Nurses at Montefiore’s Hutchinson (Hutch) campus are fighting to make sure children get quality care that is suitable for children. Montefiore has started to shift surgeries for pediatric patients to the Hutch ambulatory surgery center from its full-service Children’s Hospital at Montefiore before properly staffing and training nurses to care for new pediatric patients and address their concerns about patient safety. Nurses are not being equipped with the necessary training, resources, and time to feel confident they can provide the quality care these patients deserve.
Nurses are asking for the community to join them in calling on Montefiore to prioritize pediatric patient safety. They attended a Community Board 11 meeting on Thursday, May 23, to ask board members to demand Montefiore to do the right thing and provide nurses with appropriate training.
Nurses had several safety concerns to share with community board members. They expressed that pediatric care is highly specialized, and the skills needed to care for young patients are not immediately transferrable from adult medicine — and vice versa. Moreover, Montefiore has an excellent Children’s Hospital where surgeries have been successfully performed for years, while Hutch is an ambulatory center that has always treated only adult patients. There are no separate waiting areas or recovery rooms for pediatric patients or a connected emergency department, so if there are surgery complications or emergency situations, which can be more common in pediatric patients, these patients would have to travel to another hospital for emergency care.
NYSNA is in solidarity with Monte Hutch nurses fighting for safe patient care. Montefiore management must do the right thing for children’s safety and provide nurses with adequate training, resources and tools to care for pediatric patients!