Members of the Committee of Interns and Residents and Mount Sinai in New York City have reached a tentative agreement, ending a three-day strike at NYC Health + Hospitals' Elmhurst Hospital Center.
The union represents about 170 resident physicians who work at Elmhurst Hospital and are employed by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The planned five-day strike started May 22, representing the first physician strike at a New York City hospital since 1990.
The agreement, reached May 24, includes a $2,000 ratification bonus for physicians and an 18 percent wage increase over the next three years. The physicians also secured an enforceable agreement to negotiate on hazard pay and a meal allowance that reaches parity with Mount Sinai Hospital residents, along with holiday pay and graduate medical education leave. Residents are slated to return to work May 25, and the contract expires in June 2025.
"We are pleased that Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai with the support of the NYC Health + Hospitals Corporation reached a tentative agreement with CIR," a spokesperson for Mount Sinai said in a May 24 statement shared with Becker's. "The proposed agreement is fair, responsible and puts patients and resident’s educational training first. We want to express our thanks to everyone working at both Mount Sinai and Elmhurst this week for their dedication to patient care during this strike."
The agreement comes as Mount Sinai is still in negotiations with unionized physicians at two other New York City hospitals. On May 22, the CIR voted to authorize a strike at Mount Sinai Morningside and Mount Sinai West, though a strike could be averted if a deal is made.