Elmhurst Hospital strike comes to an end as tentative agreement is reached
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It took two full days on the picket line until an agreement was reached between Mount Sinai and resident doctors at Elmhurst. Eagle Photo by Ryan Schwach
By Ryan Schwach
After two full days on the picket line, resident doctors at Elmhurst Hospital have tentatively agreed to a new labor contract with their employers at Mount Sinai, ending the historic strike.
Even pay with the Queens doctors’ Manhattan counterparts was at the heart of the dispute and residents said on Wednesday that the final deal grants them just that.
Around 130 trainee doctors walked out of work on Monday, becoming the first physicians in New York City to strike in more than three decades. Now, they all will return to work on Thursday morning after a deal was reached following a final bargaining session that went into the early hours of the morning on Wednesday.
“We were negotiating until about 2 a.m.,” said Committee of Interns and Residents delegate at Elmhurst Hospital Dr. Ifra Khan. “Then in the end we got all the things that we had asked for in our contract, and so it was a huge win for us.”
Included in the contract deal is an 18 percent raise over three years, retroactive to November 2022. It is the first raise the residents have had in over two years.
On top of that, the agreement also includes a $2,000 ratification bonus, and $3,500 chief differential pay to get them closer to parity with their Manhattan Mount Sinai counterparts.
The deal also includes an enforceable agreement to further discuss hazard pay, family leave, meal allowances and transportation costs – all of which the Queens doctors’ Manhattan colleagues, who are not unionized, currently receive.
“I think that this whole fight was really bigger than just us,” said Khan. “I think that it sets precedents for what is to come regarding how residents have been treated, and are still treated all throughout the country.”
“It's a huge win for Elmhurst,” she added. “It's a huge win for residents all over the country.”
Khan’s co-workers at Elmhurst, the early center of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, also expressed their joy with the agreement to the Eagle.
“It feels incredible to know that as the residents of Elmhurst we were able to make such strides for what we believe in,” said Dr. Sarah Hafuth. “We are happy to have been able to settle on an agreement and to ultimately get back to patient care. We have set an example for other residents around America to fight for what they deserve – we’ve worked too hard not to.”
After an incredibly brief negotiating session on Monday night that didn’t even last five minutes, both parties went back to the negotiating table on Tuesday, this time spending hours deliberating until a deal was finally reached.
“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,” Mount Sinai spokesperson Lucia Lee said in a statement. “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.”
Khan believes that the pressure put on Mount Sinai by elected officials, the media and other unions pushed them back to the table.
“There were government officials that had written letters, council people that have written letters, and I think that there was a lot of pressure on Mount Sinai as well, to bargain and set the bargaining table with a fair contract,” said Khan. “The negotiation session did go back and forth, and then in the end, I think all parties were happy with the final outcome.”
Among those officials was a coalition of 30 councilmembers who wrote a letter to hospital leadership. Queens Borough President Donovan Richards joined the residents on the picket lines on Monday and applauded the deal on Wednesday.
“To be treated with fairness, dignity and respect is all these healthcare heroes have wanted from the start,” said Richards. “With this new deal, that is finally what they will be receiving in the form of fair pay and much more.”
“Congratulations to CIR-SEIU and all its members on this hard-fought and well-deserved victory in your push for equity in your industry,” he added.
Senate Labor Chair and Queens representative Jessica Ramos also commended the agreement.
“Elmhurst Hospital is not just another hospital,” she said. “Even before it became the national epicenter of the pandemic, it served our working-class and immigrant communities with compassion and care. As Labor Chair, as the state senator who represents this community, and as someone who was born at Elmhurst Hospital, I’m immensely proud that management and the residents have reached a deal.”
The doctors will return to work on Thursday at 7 a.m., going back to the bedsides of Queens residents and their family members.
“I am very excited to go back to work and also to continue doing the job that I love to do,” said Khan.
Of course, the doctors aren’t the only ones thrilled about the end of the strike, so is the Health and Hospitals Corporation and Elmhurst.
“NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst is happy to welcome the resident physicians back to work,” an H+H spokesperson said. “This tentative agreement is a win for them, our patients, and the Elmhurst community who rely on the hospital for compassionate, high-quality care. We are also grateful to our colleagues from across the NYC Health + Hospitals system who assisted over the past three days and helped us provide uninterrupted services.”
For the doctors, who did something no one in their profession has in 30-years, the fight shows them a lot about themselves, and the community they serve.
“It feels extremely surreal at this time being a part of the Elmhurst community,” said Khan. “Our motto has always been, ‘Elmhurst strong,’ and I think that will be, ‘New York City strong,’ ‘Resident doctors strong,’ and the overwhelming support that we got from everyone, just continued to give us the motivation to keep fighting.”
