Mount Sinai alleges sabotage as nearly 15,000 New York City nurses strike

Two days into the largest nursing strike New York City has seen in decades, Mount Sinai Hospital said it had fired three nurses after they were caught "deliberately sabotaging" the labor-and-delivery floor by hiding supplies for newborns, the hospital said. Two of the nurses denied the allegation, saying they were preparing a "bucket" of supplies for an incoming delivery, and the third said she was not involved.

Nurses from NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia are among nearly 15,000 nurses on strike in the city. The clash has underscored growing rancor between hospitals and nurses and a changed dynamic from the 2023 walkout, which lasted three days and resolved most demands. Kenneth E. Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association, said hospitals have spent more than $100 million to hire temporary nurses and rent hotel rooms and that preparations for this strike are far greater than in 2023.

The parties are disputing pay and staffing: nurses point to chronic understaffing and prior gains, including arbitration awards of $4.7 million to Mount Sinai nurses in 2024, while hospitals say current demands would push average salaries toward $200,000 and are unaffordable amid expected financial pressures tied to insurance losses and cuts in federal subsidies, the article said.

Both sides appear to be digging in.

Key Topics

Health, Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City, Nurses Strike, Newyork-presbyterian, Montefiore