Nurses on strike in New York approve new contracts at 2 of 3 hospital systems

NEW YORK (AP) — Nurses on strike at two major New York City hospital systems have approved new contracts, but ones striking at another system rejected the proposal, ensuring that the monthlong walkout will continue at some of the city’s major medical centers.

The New York State Nurses Association announced Wednesday that its members at Montefiore and Mount Sinai approved new three-year deals while nurses at NewYork Presbyterian rejected the proposal.

The nurses who will be returning to work in the coming days represent about 10,500 of the roughly 15,000 nurses who walked off the job Jan. 12 in what the union said is the largest and longest strike of its kind in city history.

“This hard-earned victory shows hospitals that they can’t cut corners on patient care,” Nancy Hagans, the union’s president, said in a statement. “Now it’s time for NewYork-Presbyterian to do the right thing, agree to a fair contract and bring all our nurses back to work.”

Brendan Carr, CEO of Mount Sinai, urged hospital staff to come together with empathy and respect and a “shared culture” as its unionized nurses return to work starting Saturday.

“The past several weeks have been challenging, emotional, frustrating, and exhausting in different ways for all of us,” he said...