Three-day strike by nurses in New York ends as hospitals meet staffing, pay demands

Thousands of nurses at two New York City hospitals ended a three-day strike Thursday after reaching a tentative contract agreement that union officials said offers better working conditions, in addition to pay raises. The tentative deals at Mount Sinai Hospital, in Manhattan, and Montefiore Medical Center, in the Bronx, include raises totaling 19% over three years.(AP Photo)

The New York State Nurses Association has stressed staffing levels as a key concern, saying that nurses who labored through the grueling peak of the coronavirus pandemic are stretched far too thin because too many jobs are open. (AP Photo)

A protestor shouts slogans while holding a placard reading "We need more nurses" during a nursing strike outside Mount Sinai Hospital on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023, in New York. (AP)

Nurses say they have had to work overtime, handle twice as many patients as they should, and skip meals and even bathroom breaks. (AP Photo)

Protesters march on the streets around Montefiore Medical Center during a nursing strike, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo)

Union officials planned to provide details of the proposed contract agreement and the ratification timeline at a briefing later Thursday. The hospitals say they have been grappling with a widespread nursing shortage that was exacerbated by the pandemic. (AP Photo)

Nurses shout slogans and hold signs during a nursing strike outside Mount Sinai Hospital on Tuesday, Jan. 10 in New York. (AP Photo)

A protestor runs with her dog as nurses shout during a nursing strike outside Mount Sinai Hospital on Tuesday, Jan. 10 in New York. The nursing strike had disrupted patient care at two of New York City's largest hospitals. (AP Photo)