Mayor Adams Announces Tentative Contract Agreement To Better Pay 2,300 Essential HealthCare Workers

NYC Mayor Eric Adams, Office of Labor Relations (OLR) Commissioner Renee Campion, and NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Dr. Mitchell Katz today announcement today.

They announced a tentative five-year and six-month contract agreement with the Committee of Interns and Residents Service Employees International Union (CIR-SEIU) that will provide fair wage increases to more than 2,300 medical interns and residents who work for NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest municipal health care system in the nation.

“… Adams administration has successfully negotiated contracts with unions …”

The tentative agreement is retroactive — beginning on December 16, 2021 — and expires on June 15, 2027. The agreement includes compounded wage increases totaling 16.21 percent over the term of the contract and the starting salary for residents will go from the current $66,247 to $81,238 in December 2025. The agreement also includes lump sum payments, an adjustment to the resident salary schedule to help address recruitment and retention, and other benefit enhancements. In two-and-a-half years — and less than 16 months after negotiating its first contract — the Adams administration has successfully negotiated contracts with unions representing more than 96 percent of the city’s workforce and 100 percent of the city’s uniformed workforce — the quickest any mayoral administration has reached that milestone in modern city history. 

“Our hospital workers were on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, risking their lives to save ours. The least they deserve is a fair wage for their work,” said Mayor Adams. “Today’s announcement will ensure 2,300 medical interns and residents receive the pay and benefits they deserve, while also helping our public hospitals recruit and retain talent so they can keep serving New Yorkers. Whether it’s medical residents, nurses, or teachers, our administration will always invest in the working-class people of New York City, and we are proud to achieve these crucial labor agreements in record-time.”

“This contract is a win-win for all parties involved,” said OLR Commissioner Campion. “It provides significant salary and benefit increases to our residents in recognition of the important care they provide to our fellow New Yorkers every day. It will also help NYC Health + Hospitals remain competitive in recruiting and retaining quality residents, and it is fiscally responsible and fair to the taxpayers of our city.”

“… residents can learn, train, and provide high-quality care to New Yorkers …”

“NYC Health + Hospitals is proud to provide an environment where residents can learn, train, and provide high-quality care to New Yorkers,” said Mitchell Katz, president and CEO, NYC Health + Hospitals, MD. “This contract supports everyone’s goals in continuing that effort, and I want to thank Commissioner Campion, the Office of Labor Relations, and the Office of Management and Budget for their work on this negotiation.”

The total cost of the tentative CIR-SEIU agreement through Fiscal Year 2028 is $211 million and it is fully funded within the city’s Labor Reserve.

The tentative agreement includes:

• Fair Wage Increases: 16.21 percent in compounded general wage increases.
• Lump Sum Payments: Lump sum payment of between $4,000 to $6,000 to residents, depending on their date of hire.
• Salary Schedule Adjustment: Effective May 16, 2024, the resident salary schedule will be adjusted by between $1,131 and $4,000. The $4,000 adjustment will be to the early salary steps in order to help address recruitment.
• Meal Payment Increase: The annual meal payment for residents will increase by $300 per year, from $3,500 to $3,800.
• Increased Fund Contributions: There will be significant contribution increases to various contractual funds, which pay additional compensation to residents and improve patient care.
• Labor-Management Committee: There will be continued Labor-Management discussions on various issues affecting the residents’ work and well-being.

The tentative agreement must be ratified by CIR-SEIU’s membership.

The Adams administration has delivered fair wages and benefits to hundreds of thousands of municipal workers, many who went years without a wage increase. Following the pattern established by the agreement with District Council 37 (DC 37) in February 2023, the Adams administration continued to reach settlements with unions representing nearly all of the city’s workforce, including the United Federation of Teachers, the Communication Workers of America Local 1180, Teamsters Local 237, the Council of Supervisors and Administrators, and the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association, as well as with unions representing uniformed workers including the Police Benevolent Association, the Uniformed Officers Coalition, and the United Sanitation Workers’ Union Local 831, among dozens of others.

Earlier this month, Mayor Adams and NYC Health + Hospitals CEO Dr. Katz announced that more than 1,000 new union nurses have been hired over the past eight months at the city’s public hospital system, replacing many temporary nurses. With these 1,000+ nurses, the NYC Health + Hospital system now has more than 9,600 full- and part-time nurses across the system.