SLEEPY HOLLOW, NY (TIP): After around-the-clock bargaining sessions all week, caregivers at Phelps Hospital reached a tentative agreement at 5:13 a.m. this morning, averting a planned one-day strike for tomorrow, May 31. “Over 900 caregivers standing together are more powerful than any of us standing alone–and that’s how we won so much. Caring for our patients is our top priority and we are looking forward to working collaboratively with management to strengthen patient care,” said Anne Moss, a registered nurse in the intensive care unit who has worked at the hospital since 2011.
The 238-bed Phelps Hospital is part of Northwell Health which is New York State’s largest healthcare provider and private employer. In June 2022, approximately 900 Phelps Hospital caregivers including registered nurses, certified nursing assistants; housekeeping staff, food service workers, and others voted to form a union with 1199SEIU. Tens of thousands of 1199SEIU members at other Northwell facilities, including nearby Northern Westchester Hospital, already have strong 1199SEIU contracts.
The tentative agreement with Phelps Hospital includes substantial wage increases–retroactive to April 2023–bringing the Sleepy Hollow caregivers on par with their 1199SEIU colleagues at other Northwell Health facilities. The agreement, which is modeled after the pattern established by 1199SEIU’s master contract with the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes of New York, also includes no-cost family health insurance and secure pensions. Other highlights of the agreement are employer paid childcare and education funds, job security provisions, and language ensuring that frontline caregivers will have meaningful input in developing staffing guidelines to ensure the best possible patient care. More details about the agreement will be released pending a ratification vote by the 1199SEIU hospital workers next week.