(NEW YORK CITY) – Last week, attorneys for NewYork-Presbyterian (NYP) Hospital and the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) headed to Federal Court in Manhattan in light of NYP attempting to obtain a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to prevent an arbitrator from hearing evidence in a safe staffing arbitration scheduled for Monday (August 26th) about conditions at NYP Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.

Nurses at NYP-Methodist allege understaffing in four inter-connected Units - Labor and Delivery, Pediatrics, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Neo-Natal ICU.

Nurses intend to testify and to show the arbitrator how more than a year’s worth of the hospital’s own staffing data demonstrates persistent, flagrant violations of the safe staffing standards in the contract.

According to their Union contract’s safe staffing enforcement mechanism, cases of severe or chronic understaffing can be heard and ruled on by a neutral third-party arbitrator, who has the power to issue a variety of remedies.

The contract’s staffing enforcement provision clearly requires the employer to accept the first date the arbitrator offers and prevents the parties from adjourning or rescheduling.

Since winning stronger enforcement mechanisms in New York City Private Sector contracts in late 2022 and early 2023, NYSNA Nurses at several hospitals in New York City and around the State have used arbitration to hold hospitals accountable for safe staffing.

Arbitration and New York’s Clinical Hospital Staffing Committee Law are two major tactics Nurses have used to improve patient safety.  

NYP has recently taken the unprecedented step of suing to overturn an arbitrator’s ruling that found it understaffed its Cardiothoracic ICU and awarded Nurses who worked extremely understaffed more than $270,000 in financial restitution.

Although NYP’s lawsuit will likely be thrown out, it is causing delays in the standard Labor-Management arbitration process.

NYSNA Executive Director Pat Kane said: “The largest hospital system in New York City and one of the wealthiest in the State should be using its substantial resources to improve safe patient care, not fight against it.  It’s disgraceful that they are spending untold amounts of money picking legal battles they cannot win but that can delay improvements to nurse staffing levels and patient safety.”

To Read This Labor News Report In Its Entirety, Go To: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Escalates Attacks On Nurses' Union and Patient Safety | New York State Nurses Association (nysna.org)