NYC nurses on strike. They left their jobs early Monday after contract talks fell through overnight. The 2 involved hospitals are Mount Sinai and Montefiore Medical Center.
?#BREAKING: Thousands of nurses have walked out from two of NYC’s largest hospitals in a strike
?#Manhattan | #NY
Thousands of nurses have walked out from two of new york city’s largest hospitals as they are on a strike until an agreement has reached pic.twitter.com/BAGsGRnjyJ
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) January 9, 2023
The strike began early in the morning, leaving the 2 hospitals with few nurses to work. According to sources, there are 8 hospitals in total for the strike, which will last for 10 days. It went down to the last 2 hospitals as their management settled the other’s issues.
The two hospitals’ contract negotiations fell through, resulting in the current situation. Approximately more than 7000 NYC nurses, according to the New York State Nurses Association, will go on strike.
On Monday, picketers were joined by a band consisting of a tuba, trumpet, tambourine, drums, and a guitar outside Mount Sinai. Passing cars honked in support, and onlookers overwhelmingly said they supported the nurses.
Despite the outpouring of support, a Mount Sinai spokesperson blamed the strike on the nurses, claiming that contract negotiations were suspended at 1 a.m. on Monday.
According to the spokesperson, the governor made the same proposal as the other hospitals, but the nurses went on strike. They want to give Mount Sinai nurses a 19.1% raise as part of their offer.
Kristi Barnes, a spokesperson for the nurses union, stated that the issue they wish to address is not wages but rather staffing. She stated that staffing had been the hospital’s primary concern during her 30 years as a nurse.
She also claimed that this problem existed before, during, and after the pandemic. Barnes walked out of her nursing job for the first time in her 45-year career.
Meanwhile, only 100 nurses from the other hospital, Montefiore, are outside for their hike. According to a patient’s relative, only one nurse remained behind to run to the patient’s aid.
The patient was admitted to the hospital on Thursday, according to his relative, but there were only 20 nurses available. There were about 200 patients who needed medical attention, but the hospital was severely understaffed.
According to two people familiar with the situation at Montefiore, NYSNA and hospital management planned to resume talks Monday afternoon.
At a press conference outside Mount Sinai on Monday, NYSNA President Nancy Hagans stated that the hospital’s management has not offered to continue bargaining with the union.
She said management would prefer to consider their claim if they want to be held accountable for the staff shortage.
Over 7,000 nurses are on strike in New York today. Here, a nurse at Mount Sinai explains why.
From our reporter @jordanzakarin pic.twitter.com/lta6kgRglQ
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) January 9, 2023
Their contracts were set to expire on December 31st. Because the staff had become insufficient, they had been negotiating their cause ever since. Burnout from pandemic surge cases caused several nurses to leave their jobs.
People needing medical care were advised to go to hospitals and demand what they needed. They also stated that they wanted to help them, but management pressured them to strike due to unfair treatment.
Montefiore stated on its website that all appointments and other medical procedures would be rescheduled due to the strike.