(NEW YORK CITY) – Late last week, Nurses represented by the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) held speak-outs at three major public hospitals - H+H/Lincoln, H+H/Kings, and H+H/Elmhurst - as part of a series of escalating protests.

Nurses are calling on Mayor Adams to do the right thing for racial and health care justice for New Yorkers and settle a fair contract with the Unionized Nurses that will help to recruit and retain enough Caregivers at the bedside.

On the day of the protests, Politico reported new data that the City released on spending for Temporary Travel Nurse Contracts after New York City Comptroller Brad Lander raised concerns about out-of-control costs in a letter to H+H.

The City revealed H+H spent $589.9 million on Temporary Registered Nursing (RN) Staffing in Fiscal Year 2022, even more than the $549 million previously reported for Calendar Year 2022.  

And spending on Temp RN Staffing in Fiscal Year 2023 is on track to exceed last year’s expenditures after only a few months, with $401.8 million already spent in Fiscal Year 2023.

The average hourly rate for Temp Nurses is now $163.50 - that's nearly 3.5 times what Staff Nurses make, fringe benefits included. 

Even using the City’s much lower previously released estimate, New York City spends at least $1.5 million on Temp Nurses every single day that they fail to settle a fair contract that keeps qualified Staff Nurses at the bedside. 

The New York Daily News previously reported New York City paid $1.2 billion to a for-profit staffing firm called Rightsourcing in Fiscal Year 2022.

Rightsourcing, which is owned by a Swedish Private Equity Firm, subcontracted with temp agencies to fill staffing gaps at H+H/Mayorals – gaps that were largely caused by Public Sector Nurse pay being so much lower than the industry standard.   

Sonia Lawrence, an RN employed at H+H/Lincoln and President of NYSNA’s New York City Health+Hospitals/Mayorals Executive Council, said: “I grew up in the Bronx and I am proud to care for my Bronx community, but the city is not making it easy for us.  We are understaffed, overworked and underpaid.  Instead of investing in Staff Nurses based in our communities, H+H is spending more than half a billion dollars a year on Temp Travel Nurses - they’re spending more on Temp Travel Nurses now than at any time during the pandemic.  That’s expensive, unsustainable and offensive to hard-working H+H nurses.  It would cost the city hundreds of millions of dollars less to raise pay for Public Sector Nurses to stop the crisis of high turnover and understaffing.”

New York City AFL-CIO Central Labor Council President Vincent Alvarez said: “It’s long past time to stop wasting millions upon millions of dollars on Temporary Traveling Nurse contracts and start putting that money where it belongs - toward hiring and retaining permanent Nurses who are invested in our communities.  Our City’s failure to do so has led to a crisis of understaffing that is actively undermining quality of patient care and threatening public health. The Working People of New York City need a working Health Care System and the New York City Labor Movement will continue to stand with our nearly (9,000) Health+Hospitals Nurses in demanding a fair contract, with pay equity and fair funding, so that they can carry out their mission of providing exceptional, compassionate care to the patients and communities they serve." 

More speak-outs and public protests are planned, including another that took place over the weekend on Saturday outside Henry J. Carter in Manhattan.  Two more will happen this week on Tuesday (June 27th) at Queens Hospital Center and on Wednesday (June 28th) Harlem Hospital in Manhattan.

NYSNA represents more than 42,000 Members across New York State and is New York’s largest Union and Professional Association for Registered Nurses.

NYSNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United, the country's largest and fastest-growing Union and Professional Association of RNs, with more than 225,000 Members nationwide.

To Read This Labor News Report In Its Entirety, Go To: NYSNA Nurses Held Simultaneous Protests at Three Major Public Hospitals Today with Press Conference at H+H/Lincoln | New York State Nurses Association

Photo Courtesy Of NYSNA's Facebook Page.