The strikers reached a tentative deal with the hospitals after three days.

Earlier this week, approximately 7,000 nurses working at several of the largest hospitals in New York City walked out of their shifts to go on strike with the support of the New York State Nurses Association union. The primary complaint of the strike was major staffing shortages in the hospitals, leading to the nurses becoming severely overworked and burning out.

Today, a tentative agreement was reached between the union and the operators of the affected hospitals, Mount Sinai Health System and Montefiore Health System. According to the union, the new deal will ensure “safe staffing ratios” at the affected hospitals “so that there will always be enough nurses at the bedside to provide safe patient care, not just on paper.”

Montefiore also agreed to staffing increases, pay increases, more nurses in the ER, health coverage for retired nurses, and financial penalties for failing to adhere to any of these conditions.

“Through our unity and by putting it all on the line, we won enforceable safe staffing ratios at both Montefiore and Mount Sinai where nurses went on strike for patient care,” the nurses union said in a statement. “Today, we can return to work with our heads held high, knowing that our victory means safer care for our patients and more sustainable jobs for our profession.”

“Our proposed agreement is similar to those between NYSNA and eight other New York City hospitals,” Mount Sinai said in a statement. “It is fair and responsible, and it puts patients first.”

“From the outset, we came to the table committed to bargaining in good faith and addressing the issues that were priorities for our nursing staff,” Montefiore added. “We know this strike impacted everyone – not just our nurses – and we were committed to coming to a resolution as soon as possible to minimize disruption to patient care.”