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NYC public hospital doctors reach tentative contract deal, averting potential strike
By
Caroline Lewis
Published Jan 13, 2025
Modified Jan 13, 2025
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Zoirusha at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
By
Caroline Lewis
Published Jan 13, 2025
Modified Jan 13, 2025
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Public hospital doctors in New York City have reached a tentative labor agreement with their employers that boosts their pay and benefits, averting a potential strike at four hospitals, the doctors' union said on Monday.
More than 2,500 attending physicians represented by Doctors Council SEIU have been negotiating over pay and benefits for more than a year with their employers, who are private affiliates of NYC Health and Hospitals.
Although the public hospital system pays their salaries, they are employed by entities such as Mount Sinai, NYU and the Physician Affiliate Group of New York.
After about 1,000 doctors threatened to strike this month over stalled contract talks at four hospitals in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, Mayor Eric Adams urged the parties to work with a mediator.
“We are pleased that the Doctors Council and our affiliates have come to an agreement that is fair to our physicians, while also addressing the shared goals of doctor recruitment and retention,” said Chris Miller, a spokesperson for NYC Health and Hospitals. “This agreement will ensure that we can continue to serve all New Yorkers who require health care, without exception.”
The unionized doctors still need to ratify the agreement in votes that will take place in the coming days. The tentative agreement includes “substantial” salary boosts, along with bonuses for longevity and bonuses designed to ensure doctors within certain specialties remain in the system, according to the union.
The city has also agreed to maintain a $12 million “flexible physician compensation pool” to allow for future market-rate adjustments to physicians’ salaries to address hiring needs.
“I am proud that this tentative agreement puts us on a path to enhance care — for our patients, our communities, and the dedicated doctors they entrust,” said Dr. Frances Quee, president of the Doctors Council, in a statement.
The deal comes after a City Council hearing on Friday on a potential strike. At the hearing, doctors told councilmembers about being overworked, suffering from burnout and earning less than their private-hospital counterparts.
This article was updated with comment from NYC Health and Hospitals.
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Health and Science
Caroline Lewis
Caroline Lewis is on the health care beat for WNYC and Gothamist. She has covered COVID, a nurses' strike, the overdose crisis and New York’s marijuana legalization effort, and spent a year investigating patients' medical bills. She always wants to hear about how everyday New Yorkers experience the health system. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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