Yesterday Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH) met virtually with the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) for our second negotiation session.

SIUH and NYSNA had a respectful dialogue and spent most of the session exchanging and reviewing each other’s proposals on a range of non-economic issues. We look forward to engaging in more substantive discussions as these negotiations progress, and we will update you again after our next session on Feb. 2.

SIUH launched this website (www.StatenIslandRNnegotiations.com) to help you stay informed about the status of negotiations and the issues being discussed across the table. We invite you to visit the website often and submit any questions you might have directly from the homepage. In addition, for timely updates about the negotiations, you can also subscribe to text message alerts from SIUH. Signing up is easy — simply text SIUHRN to 77295 to receive periodic text messages from our team. You can cancel at any time by texting “LEAVE SIUHRN”. We hope you find the website and text notification options to be useful resources throughout these negotiations.

As you may know, collective bargaining is underway between Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH) and the New York State Nurses Association as we negotiate a renewal contract for our nurses. On the heels of our first bargaining session last week, we wanted to take the opportunity to update you on what happened at the negotiation session, and what you can expect from us throughout the negotiation process.

On Friday we had a productive session that led to two tentative agreements, which is a positive sign this early on. The parties expressed their commitment to engaging in a constructive and efficient negotiation process with the goal of reaching a deal before your current contract expires on March 31, 2021.

Negotiating labor contracts presents unique challenges as the parties involved strive to reach consensus through compromise and understanding. Fundamentally these negotiations involve give-and-take on both sides. SIUH is committed to bargaining in good faith, and we are confident the parties will work collaboratively to reach a fair contract that meets all of our interests.

For timely updates about the negotiations, you can subscribe to text message alerts from SIUH. Signing up is easy — simply text SIUHRN to 77295 to receive periodic text messages from our team. You can cancel at any time.

We look forward to making further progress at our next negotiation session on Jan. 19, and will keep you updated.