Nearly 15,000 Nurses Strike at Major New York Hospitals Over Staffing and Safety

Almost 15,000 nurses at several major New York hospitals are on strike, Time reported, after contract negotiations stalled following months of bargaining, according to the New York State Nurses Association. The walkout, which began on Monday morning, affects Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside and West, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and Montefiore Medical Center.

The union said specific demands vary by institution but broadly call for improved staffing levels, health benefits, and protections against workplace violence. NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said in a press release that hospital management has refused to address “our most important issues—patient and nurse safety,” and that nurses were forced out on strike.

Hospital officials have pushed back, calling some requests too expensive; a spokesperson for Mount Sinai told The New York Times that nurses there make an average of $162,000 a year and that NYSNA’s asks would raise that amount to $275,000 over three years. Kenneth E. Raske of the Greater New York Hospital Association told the Times that the health care system is under financial strain and called the union’s demands “so outrageous” that hospitals could not concede.

Key Topics

Health, Nysna, Mount Sinai Hospital, Newyork-presbyterian Hospital, Montefiore Medical Center, Nancy Hagans