NEW YORK NURSE: January-February 2011
The 29 RNs at Brunswick Hospital in Long Island negotiated a three-year contract on Oct. 15, 2010. The contract is retroactive to July 1, 2010 and runs until June 30, 2013. There is a three-percent salary increase on the base rate retroactive to July 1, 2010, another three-percent increase July 1, 2011, and another three-percent salary increase July 1, 2012. The contract now includes a certification differential, so that regular, full-time employees can receive a one-time $500 payment for a nationally or state recognized certification in the fields of mental health, behavioral health or counseling.
On Nov. 5, 2010, the 500 registered nurses of St. John’s Riverside Hospital in Yonkers ratified a three-year contract, retroactive to April 1, 2010 and running until March 31, 2013. They will receive three-percent pay increases each year. The retiree health offering has been improved so that effective Jan. 1, 2011, Medicare-eligible retirees will have the option of being covered by Empire Blue Cross Medicare Advantage Local PPO Plan 25 or receiving a cash reimbursement to purchase their own Medicare supplemental plan.