A STRIKE by more than 7,000 nurses at two major New York City hospitals began at 6.00am on Monday after talks aimed at averting a walkout broke down overnight.
Tentative deals had been reached in recent days covering nurses at several hospitals, including two new agreements late on Sunday evening.
But talks with Mount Sinai hospital on the Upper East Side in Manhattan and at three locations of the Montefiore Medical Centre in the Bronx, failed overnight.
‘After bargaining late into the night at Montefiore and Mount Sinai Hospital yesterday, no tentative agreements were reached. Today, more than 7,000 nurses at two hospitals are on strike for fair contracts that improve patient care,’ the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) said in a statement on Monday.
The union announced a press conference at midday at Mount Sinai Hospital Madison and East 99th Street in Manhattan
NYSNA listed ‘other strike locations where picketing will take place from 7.00am to 7.00pm’ as follows:
Montefiore Moses – 111 East 210th St, Bronx;
Montefiore Weiler – 1825 Eastchester Rd, Bronx;
Montefiore Hutch – 1250 Waters Pl, Bronx;
Mount Sinai Hospital – 1 Gustave Levy Pl, Madison & 99th, NY.
Late on Monday, Governor. Hochul released a statement demanding binding arbitration and calling on the Department of Health to enforce nurse staffing requirements under the law.
NYSNA responded with an ‘important message to New Yorkers: Do not delay getting hospital care.’
Its statement said: ‘To all of our patients, to all New Yorkers, we want to be absolutely clear: If you are sick, please do not delay getting medical care, regardless of whether we are on strike.
‘Patients should seek hospital care immediately if they need it. We would rather be the ones providing that care, but our bosses have pushed us to be out here instead.
‘We appreciate solidarity from our patients – but going into the hospital to get the care you need is NOT crossing our strike line.
‘In fact, we invite you to come join us on the strike line after you’ve gotten the care you need. We are out here so we can provide better patient care to you!’
Mario Cilento, President of the New York State AFL-CIO: ‘Union members across the city and state, from the public sector, private sector, and building trades are united in our support of the nurses represented by NYSNA, who have been put in the unfortunate position of having no other choice than to strike.
‘These nurses are dedicated professionals who provide quality patient care under unimaginable conditions including short staffing, which were only exacerbated by the pandemic.
‘The hospitals treatment of these nurses is proof that all their words of adulation for their healthcare heroes during the pandemic were hollow.
‘It is time for the hospitals to treat these nurses fairly, with the dignity and respect they deserve, to ensure nurses can get back to serving their communities by providing superior care to their patients.’
New York City Central Labour Council, AFL-CIO President Vincent Alvarez said: ‘The entire New York City Labour Movement stands with our nurses, who are courageously taking action against dangerous understaffing that threatens the safety of their patients.
‘The decision to go on strike is never an easy one, particularly for workers who care so deeply about the patients and communities they serve.
‘But hospital executives created this crisis by failing to hire, train, and retain nurses while at the same time treating themselves to extravagant compensation packages. Now it’s time for them to fix what they’ve broken.
‘The full resources of the NYC CLC, our affiliates and our 1.3 million members are at the disposal of our City’s nurses as they fight for the resources they need to provide safe, quality healthcare to all New Yorkers.’
US House Representative Jamaal Bowman added: ‘Nurses have been through hell and back for their patients. They already fought unimaginable fights to keep us healthy and alive, and they shouldn’t have to keep fighting.
‘Safe staffing ratios and healthy conditions should be common in every hospital. I stand with NYSNA nurses as they fight for fair workplace conditions.’
State Senate Labour Chair Jessica Ramos commented: ‘It should be alarming to all New Yorkers that these contract negotiations have come to this.
‘Rather than raising wages and ensuring hospitals have safe staffing ratios, hospital management have been granting themselves bonuses and pocketing money that could be used to strengthen our public health infrastructure.
‘Granting these nurses a fair contact is not just a fitting way to express our gratitude, it is the best way to keep all New Yorkers safe and healthy. I stand with NYSNA, and urge management to return to the table with a fair contract.’
New York State Senator Robert Jackson declared: ‘Nurses are the first line of defence when it comes to keeping our communities healthy and safe, and we owe them a debt of gratitude for their tireless dedication and service.
‘NYSNA nurses are standing up for what is right in their commitment to patient safety, economic justice, and public health to ensure they have the resources they need to provide the best care possible to all New Yorkers.
‘I am proud to stand with NYSNA in their demands for safe staffing, fair wages, healthcare and retirement security – because our healthcare workers make us all stronger.’
NYC Council Member Lynn Schulman, Chair of the Health Committee, said: ‘It is mind-boggling that some of the city’s most prominent hospitals recognise the value and importance of our nurses, and bargained in good faith with them, while others have chosen to turn their backs on nurses and, in turn, their patients.
‘As someone who has both worked and been a patient in a hospital, I can tell you first hand how vital nurses are to the health outcomes of those they care for.’
State Senator Cordell Cleare said: ‘I continue to fervently believe that we must always put patients before profits; this statement is doubly true as applied to our beloved nurses, who are instrumental in ensuring that patients are cared for proactively – with dignity and compassion.
‘I support the principled movement of nurses all over the state, including here at Mount Sinai to stand up for themselves, their patients and our communities.
‘Health System bureaucrats holding up contract talks and the timely implementation of Safe Staffing are further exacerbating the nursing shortage that they created – and this is unacceptable!
‘Nurses are the heart and soul of the healthcare system and we must treat them with the kindness, respect, remuneration and support they deserve!’
Assembly member Harvey Epstein warned: ‘Chronic understaffing harms patient care. It was true when we passed the safe staffing law and it’s true now, one year after the law went into effect.
‘We must strengthen staffing and protect patients in jeopardy. Hospitals are forcing nurses onto the picket line when they would rather be at their patients’ bedside. I’m proud to stand with NYSNA nurses as they fight to protect patients and their ability to support those patients.’
Council Member Julie Menin said: ‘Nurses are the lifeline of the healthcare system. We cannot ignore the understaffing crisis in our healthcare system, which endangers patients’ lives and nurses’ ability to serve. Empowering and respecting our nurses means that hospitals uphold safe staffing levels and fair wages. Hospital management must agree to fair contracts to ensure the future of public health.’
Assemblyman Alex Bores declared: ‘I stand with our nurses, and will continue to do so. We must put patient care first by addressing the understaffing crisis.’
‘I stand with the nurses of Mount Sinai and with their union as they demand a fair and timely contract,’ said Assembly member Grace Lee.
‘Addressing the staff shortage needs to be a top priority for Mount Sinai and all our healthcare providers that are chronically understaffed. Addressing these shortages is just one piece of what needs to be done to ensure the long-term health of our healthcare system and our first responders as we recover from the ongoing pandemic.’
The Center for Popular Democracy, a national network of nearly 50 grassroots organisations from all over the country organising low-income black and brown communities, ‘unequivocally supports the New York States Nurses Association in their efforts to fight for fair staffing and appropriate compensation for their work to save our lives.
‘Healthcare is a right, not a way for the rich to get richer. Nurses are heroes and deserve to be treated as such,’ said Jennifer Flynn Walker, Co-Chief of Campaigns for the CPD.
‘The Sierra Club supports family-sustaining wages and dignity on the job for all people, from workers assembling wind turbines to those caring for people in our community,’ said Shay O’Reilly, Senior Organising Representative for the Sierra Club.
‘We will fight alongside nurses for an economy that puts people and planet over profit – starting right here in New York City, at Mount Sinai’s front doors.’
The hospitals have been preparing for a strike since the nurses’ union gave notice of its plans 10 days ago. The affected hospitals plan on paying temporary ‘travelling’ nurses to fill in where possible and some have already begun transferring patients.
Montefiore released a notice to staff, telling nurses how to quit the union and stay on the job if they want to continue to care for their patients.
The union says the hospitals will be spending more on hiring temporary nurses at a significantly greater cost. It argues the hospitals should agree to their demands to hire more staff and grant the raises the union is seeking.
‘As nurses, our top concern is patient safety,’ NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said in a statement last Friday. ‘Yet nurses … have been forced to work without enough staff, stretched to our breaking point, sometimes with one nurse in the Emergency Department responsible for 20 patients. That’s not safe for nurses or our patients.’