Largest nursing strike in New York City history looms as contract negotiations continue
The largest nurses strike in New York City history could begin Monday morning if a tentative agreement is not reached between the nurses union and hospitals.
Nearly 16,000 nurses are threatening to leave their jobs Monday morning, according to the New York State Nursing Association (NYSNA), the union that represents nurses.
Nurses will begin the strike at 6 a.m. and will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, according to the union.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency on Friday in anticipation of a possible strike and appealed to hospitals and the nurses union to reach a last-minute deal, saying a strike “could endanger the lives of thousands of New Yorkers and patients.”
“I strongly encourage everyone to stay at the table, both sides, management and nurses, until this is resolved,” Hochul said.
A nurse holds a sign during a strike at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York on January 9, 2023. More than 16,000 nurses threaten to walk off the job again if they do not negotiate a new contract.
Bloomberg via Getty Images
Five major private hospitals in New York City would be affected by a strike. The hospitals, according to the union, are the richest in the city and include Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside, Mount Sinai West, Montefiore Einstein and New York-Presbyterian.
Hospitals are prepared to continue offering care despite pending work disruptions, according to officials, who said patients should not avoid or delay seeking help for any medical emergency.
NYSNA said during a video conference call update Sunday morning that there has been no movement in labor talks with the five hospitals, which affect more than 15,000 nurses.
NYSNA is calling for an agreement that includes wage increases, safe staffing levels, comprehensive health care and pension coverage, and workplace protections from violence.
The nurses’ contract, reached in 2023 after a three-day strike, expired on December 31.
“We continue to negotiate in good faith with the hope of reaching an agreement that is fair, reasonable and responsible,” a spokesperson for the Mount Sinai Health Care System said in a statement Saturday. “While we know that a strike can be disruptive, we are prepared for a strike that could last an indefinite period of time and have taken all necessary steps to best support our patients and employees should NYSNA force our nurses away from the bedside for the second time in three years.”
“NYSNA leaders’ reckless and irresponsible demands totaling $3.6 billion, including a nearly 40% pay increase, and their disagreement with our reasonable measures, such as deploying panic buttons to front-line staff in the Emergency Department, clearly put patients at risk,” Joe Solmonese, senior vice president of Strategic Communications at Montefiore Einstein Hospital, said in a statement.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 9: Nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital strike outside the hospital on January 9, 2023, in the Upper East Side neighborhood of New York City. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
“We are preparing for what we anticipate could be a multi-week strike and are determined to dedicate all necessary resources to the safe and smooth care of our community,” the statement continued.
The impasse between NYSNA and the management of New York City’s private hospitals continued even as the union announced tentative agreements last week that diverted strikes at four so-called safety-net hospitals in the New York City area.
Nurses at three major Northwell Health hospitals on Long Island, New York, reached a tentative contract agreement Thursday and called off a strike. according the NYSNA. Nurses at Brooklyn Hospital Center and Wyckoff Heights Medical Center and those who work for BronxCare Health System also rescinded strike notices when they reached a tentative contract, NYSNA said.
“That leaves New York City’s wealthiest hospitals as the outliers that have refused to enter into fair contracts that protect patients and nurses,” NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said in a video statement Saturday.
Hagans added: “Instead of guaranteeing healthcare to nurses, these wealthy hospitals are pushing to cut healthcare benefits for nurses who risk their own health to care for New Yorkers during this historic flu surge, the COVID-19 pandemic, and everyday injuries and hospital violence.”
Hagan pointed to a police-involved shooting last week at a Brooklyn hospital as the latest example of the violence hospital workers face.
On Thursday, a 62-year-old former NYPD officer, allegedly wielding a sharp object, was shot and killed by New York City police officers at New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. The man, police say, was shot after he allegedly barricaded himself in a room with an adult patient and a hospital security worker and threatened to harm himself and others.
ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway and Darren Reynolds contributed to this report.
