Above photo: Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai Hospital on January 10, 2023 in New York City. AP.
Nearly 16,000 nurses across five major New York City hospitals are set to strike on Monday.
As contract talks stall.
Nearly 16,000 nurses in New York City are preparing to go on strike on Monday as contract negotiations with several major hospital systems stall over pay, staffing levels, and healthcare benefits, according to the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA).
The planned strike is set to affect five large hospitals across the city and comes after nurses issued 10-day strike notices on January 2. NYSNA says the action is aimed at pressuring hospital management to prioritize patient care over profits, amid what it describes as growing concerns over safe staffing ratios, workplace safety, and benefit protections.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said hospital administrators are seeking concessions that would undermine patient safety, including scaling back staffing guarantees and refusing to ensure healthcare coverage for nurses. Hagans, who has worked at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn for more than three decades, also pointed to a rise in assaults against healthcare workers since the Covid-19 pandemic and cited an active shooter incident at Mount Sinai last November as evidence of unresolved safety issues.
CEOs make 12,000x what the average nurse makes
The union claims that chief executive compensation at Montefiore, Mount Sinai, and New York Presbyterian is nearly 12,000 times higher than the average nurse’s salary, while three of the hospitals involved reportedly hold a combined $1.6 billion in cash or cash equivalents. NYSNA says the hospitals have already begun hiring travel nurses in preparation for the strike.
“We are asking them to take those millions and invest it into the community, into staffing, and into our medical coverage so we can continue to care for our patients,” Hagans said, adding that nurses were being forced into strike action by the management’s stance at the negotiating table.
Hospital systems involved in the dispute have rejected the union’s claims, insisting they are bargaining in good faith and accusing NYSNA of risking patient care. Mount Sinai denied allegations of retaliation against nurses following the November incident and said it was not attempting to strip healthcare benefits. A spokesperson said the union had refused to move away from what it described as “extreme economic proposals” that would require billions of dollars in additional spending.
New York Presbyterian also criticized the strike threat, saying the union was unwilling to compromise on wages and that steps had been taken to ensure continuity of care during any walkout.
While negotiations advanced at seven smaller hospitals earlier this week, prompting NYSNA to rescind strike notices at those facilities, about 1,000 nurses at three Northwell hospitals on Long Island have also issued strike notices, signaling that labor tensions in the region’s healthcare sector remain unresolved.
