Healthcare workers have participated in labor strikes across the U.S., citing concerns about staffing, patient care, working conditions and employee retention. But there are several situations where such walkouts were averted after contracts were reached.
Here are seven from 2023:
1. Members of the Committee of Interns and Residents reached a tentative deal with management, averting a planned strike at Mount Sinai Morningside and Mount Sinai West in New York City. The three-year contract includes a pay increase of 7 percent retroactive to March, 6 percent in March 2024 and another 5 percent in 2025, according to a union statement shared with Becker's. The union said it also includes a ratification bonus of $2,000, access to flex spending starting early 2024 and increases in meal money. Additionally, it includes Juneteenth as a holiday and six weeks of protected Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education leave during residency, and it preserves retroactive/back pay for the resident physicians graduating June 30.
2. Members of the Oregon Nurses Association called off their planned strike after reaching a tentative agreement with St. Charles Bend. According to the union, the tentative agreement includes the following provisions related to pay:
- The hourly starting base wage for a nurse holding a BSN will increase nearly $17 over the life of the contract.
- The average base wage for nurses currently on steps 1 through 5 will increase by 48 percent over the life of the contract, including steps and negotiated increases to the wage scale.
The union said the contract also includes significant pay raises for nurses on higher steps within the wage scale; additional contract protections related to rest and meal breaks; and assurances that nurses will receive their breaks or will receive payments when their breaks are missed.
3. More than 100 unionized resident physicians at Oakland, Calif.-based Highland Hospital reached a tentative contract, averting a planned strike. The deal includes more than 20 percent compensation increases over three years. It also includes "eight weeks' paid parental leave, fair pay for when they're forced to come in unexpectedly, an increase in their diversity fund to $30,000 annually, mental health benefits, and an enforceable commitment to negotiate family building and fertility benefits later this year," according to a news release from the Committee of Interns and Residents that was shared with Becker's.
4. Members of Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West reached a contract settlement with management, averting a five-day strike that was scheduled to begin May 22 at five HCA Healthcare facilities in California. According to the union, the settlement at the five HCA facilities includes 15 percent raises over the life of the contract and protects healthcare and education benefits for workers.
5. Members of the Committee of Interns and Residents at Jamaica and Flushing hospitals in New York City reached a tentative agreement, averting a planned strike. According to the union, the three-year tentative deal includes 18 percent salary increases over the life of the contract as well as "wins on the physicians' core demands on patient loads and out-of-title work."
6. Members of the Physicians' and Dentists' Organization of Contra Costa reached a new contract with county management, avoiding a potential strike. The union said the contract enhances the time members have to manage their panels of patients, and makes the compensation package more competitive in the Bay Area market.
7. Members of the Branch County Independent Nurses Association approved a new contract with ProMedica Coldwater (Mich.) Regional Hospital, averting a potential strike. ProMedica said the new agreement "restructures the distribution of the elements agreed to in the previous tentative agreements" while fairly rewarding nurses amid the financial challenges hospitals are facing. The agreement also addresses nursing recruitment and retention.