(BUFFALO, NEW YORK) - New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA)-represented Nurses employed at the Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) and Terrace View Long-Term Care have ratified a new contract after months of negotiations with an overwhelming majority of Nurses voting in favor of the deal, it was announced today (Tuesday, July 18th).

The five-year agreement includes significant gains for both Nurses and patients, such as wage increases of more than 23% over the life of the contract, workplace safety measures - such as the installation of weapons screening technology at all public hospital entrances, and extra pay whenever the hospital does not meet contractual staffing ratios to improve safe staffing levels.  In addition, the contract includes a Nurse Apprenticeship Program with up to $3,000 offered per semester for Apprentice Candidates to recruit and retain Nurses from the Buffalo Community as a long-term solution to improve staffing levels and patient care.

Highlights include a 4.75% wage increase and $250 signing bonus upon ratification, as well as wage increases in the following years on September 1st: 4.25% in 2024; 4.25% in 2025; 4% in 2026; and 4% in 2027. 

Existing Employee Health and Retiree Benefits remain the same, both sides announced. 

NYSNA represents 1,365 Registered Nurses (RNs) at ECMC.

NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said: “Congratulations to ECMC and Terrace View Nurses who fought hard for a fair contract to improve patient safety.  Your commitment to your patients and profession will help deliver the safe, quality care that every patient deserves.”

ECMC President and CEO Thomas J. Quatroche Jr. said, “This contract recognizes the hard work and dedication of ECMC Registered Nurses at the Medical Center and the Terrace View Long-Term Care facility.  ECMC is Western New York’s Safety Net Hospital, the largest Behavioral Health Center, and treats the most acute patients in the region in our Level One Adult Trauma and Burn Center.  In addition to ensuring our ECMC Nurses get competitively compensated for this complex nursing care, this new contract further acknowledges their steadfast determination over the past three years to provide hope and healing to the residents of Western New York during the most challenging periods of the COVID-19 Pandemic.  ECMC has had tremendous success recruiting Nurses in the past year, hiring 409 Registered Nurses since the beginning of (2022) and eliminating almost all Agency Nurses.  This contract also keeps ECMC Registered Nurses competitive in the market and will help support our successful recruitment and retention efforts.” 

The agreement comes after months of building public awareness of the workplace safety and staffing conditions that Nurses and patients face.

The new contract is seen by NYSNA Representatives as a “great victory” for both Nurses and their patients in Western New York, including some of Buffalo’s most vulnerable patients.

Registered Nurse Lona DeNisco, a NYSNA Executive Committee Member at ECMC, spoke to WNYLaborToday.com about the new deal, saying: “I ‘am so thankful.’  I’ve been here since (2002) ‘and this is the most inclusive contract we have ever had.’  It is a ‘huge’ win.  Staffing was ‘huge and is now tied in contractually, as is our new safety standards.’  ‘It took nine months of bargaining, but once we got a mediator involved, it sped both sides.’  (ECMC Management) ‘became aware we would not acquiesce on certain points and that we had all ten toes dug in.’  ‘We would have gone as long as it to get what we needed.’  ‘We have now set the bar very high’ (for Nurses here in Western New York).  ‘And we won a strong contract with a Nurse Apprenticeship Program to support retention and recruitment, respectful wages for our Nurses and workplace safety measures to keep ourselves and our patients safe.’  Nurses ‘demonstrated that persistence will always break resistance - and that is the power of our Union!’

NYSNA, which represents more than 42,000 Members across New York State, 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 Registered Nurses, with more than 225,000 Members nationwide.

ECMC has 573 inpatient beds, on- and off-campus health centers, and more than 30 out-patient specialty care services - as well as Terrace View, a 390-bed long-term care facility.  In addition, ECMC is Western New York’s only Level 1 Adult Trauma Center, as well as a regional center for burn care, behavioral health services, transplantation, medical oncology and head and neck cancer care, rehabilitation - and is a major teaching facility for the University at Buffalo.