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!