Nurses at two of New York City’s largest hospitals went on strike Monday in a dispute over pay and staffing levels after a weekend of negotiations failed to result in an agreement on a new contract.
The strike involves up to 3,500 nurses at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and 3,600 at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. Patients are likely to face disruptions in care such as emergency room visits and childbirth. The strike officially began at 6am on Monday.
The New York State Nurses Association, which represents the workers, said the group was forced to take the drastic step because of chronic understaffing, which causes them to tend to too many patients at once.
“Nurses don’t want to go on strike. Bosses have urged us to strike by refusing to give serious consideration to our proposals to address the desperate crisis of insecure staffing that is harming our patients,” the union said in a statement late Sunday.
NYSNA nurses protest as they walk away from work Monday, January 9 after failing to agree on contract terms over the weekend
Pizza-themed protest signs were plentiful at Monday morning’s protests, referencing the pizza parties thrown for nurses when they complain too much at work
Many pizza signs were waved around Monday’s protests. When the crowd was asked why, they said it’s usually because when nurses complain too much about staff shortages, they get a pizza party.
Montefiore officials said in a statement Monday: “We remain committed to seamless and compassionate care and recognize that the union leadership’s decision will inspire fear and uncertainty in our community.”
The hospital planned to use non-union managers for nursing shifts.
Montefiore and Mount Sinai had prepared for a strike by moving patients, redirecting ambulances to other facilities, postponing non-emergency medical procedures, and arranging temporary staff.
Gov. Kathy Hochul late Sunday called on the union and hospitals to submit their dispute to binding arbitration.
The Montefiore administration had said they were ready to have the contract settled by an arbitrator “to achieve a fair result”.
Ambulances and emergency surgery patients are being diverted to other NYC hospitals as the nurses’ strike impacts staffing levels
A morning commuter drives past a large group of nurses who went on strike Monday in New York City
Strikers hold protest signs as they fight for higher wages and better working conditions
The strike, involving thousands of nurses, is taking place at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx and Mt. Sinai Hospital in Manhattan
The union did not immediately accept the proposal. A statement said Hochul, a Democrat, “should listen to the frontline COVID nurse heroes and respect our federally protected labor and collective bargaining rights.”
Montefiore and Mount Sinai are the latest in a group of hospitals whose contracts with the union expired at the same time. The Nurses Association initially warned it would hit everyone at once – a potential disaster even in a city with as many hospitals as New York.
But gradually the other hospitals reached agreements with the union as the deadline approached.
Nurses at New York-Presbyterian Hospital on Saturday ratified a deal that will give them pay rises of 7%, 6% and 5% over the next three years while increasing headcount. This deal, covering 4,000 nurses, was seen as a template for negotiations with other hospital systems.
Nurses at two facilities in the Mount Sinai system also tentatively agreed to contracts on Sunday. But negotiations continued at the system’s flagship hospital on Manhattan’s East Side.
Mount Sinai management broke off negotiations late last week and only returned to the negotiating table on Sunday.
The Mount Sinai government said in a statement that the union’s focus on staff-to-patient ratios “ignores the progress we have made in attracting and hiring more new nurses, despite a global medical staff shortage that affects hospitals across the country. ‘
Nurses are protesting outside Manhattan’s Mt. Sinai Hospital, where complaints of staff shortages have persisted since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic
Zach Clapp, a nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit, signs a plaque calling for safe staffing during a rally by NYSNA nurses from NY Presbyterian and Mount Sina
Doctors and nurses look out a window as striking New York City nurses gather outside Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said the number one problem was the understaffing crisis.
“We are here to negotiate in good faith to ensure nurses have sufficient resources to care for patients.”
Emergency rooms in Montefiore are “often so overcrowded that patients are admitted to beds down the hall rather than to hospital rooms,” Hagans continued.
A representative from Mount Sinai said the “exact pay contract” accepted by Morningside/West nurses was also offered to nurses on the East Side campus.
“We continue to actively negotiate in good faith with NYSNA and hope they will accept our offer — which is an additional $51,000 in cash compensation for each nurse and $19,500 in medical benefits and pension payments over a three-year period.” would provide,” said spokeswoman Lucia Lee.