PEF secures geographic pay raises for nurses at SUNY Downstate

ALBANY, NY (12/17/2021) (readMedia)-- Albany, N.Y. -- The New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) announced today that it reached an agreement with SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University Center to provide geographic pay raises (GEOs) for the teaching and research center nurses employed by SUNY University Hospital of Brooklyn.

The agreement will result in an average salary increase of about $12,500 for PEF registered nurses and an average annual increase of $2,000 for PEF licensed practical nurses.

"These nurses are truly the heroes of this pandemic," said PEF President Wayne Spence. "These are the public employees who went to work every day, long before there was a COVID vaccine, to care for the sick and the dying. They risked their lives to help others and this geographic pay raise is one small way to reward them for their sacrifice."

The SUNY Downstate GEO follows similar raises PEF secured for its member nurses at SUNY Stony Brook in September and SUNY Upstate in June. PEF will advocate for additional policies to improve nurse compensation and benefits in the New York State legislative session next month.