New York City nurses strike enters Day 3 as contract talks stall
The New York State Nurses Association said talks between its members and five private hospital systems have failed to produce a deal and accuse hospital management of union busting.
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Thousands of nurses remained on picket lines for a third straight day Wednesday, as negotiations remain at a standstill in what has become the largest nursing strike in New York City history.
The New York State Nurses Association said talks between its members and five private hospital systems failed to produce a deal and accuse hospital management of union busting.
On Day 3 of the strike, city leaders and nurses held a press conference outside Montefiore’s Moses campus. Nurses continued to strike into the night, calling for safer working conditions and for the hospital to open up negotiations.
News 12 obtained exclusive photos from inside the emergency room at Montefiore, where stretchers are seen in close proximity, showing the conditions nurses work under.
One nurse told News 12 that the hospitals are now adequately staffed with travel nurses who are not under the union. The union nurses expressed concern for the care the travel nurses are giving patients, as many of them are not familiar with the area and patients.
Montefiore responded to the union’s rally, saying it provided seamless, compassionate care this whole week. The hospital added various safety measures that are in place, like NYPD staffing on floors and giving nurses panic buttons.
On Day 2 of the strike, nurses were seen chanting, ringing bells and waving signs outside hospitals across the city, including Mount Sinai facilities in Manhattan. The union claims three labor and delivery nurses were "unlawfully terminated" the night before the strike began.
Mount Sinai pushed back, saying the nurses were fired for interfering with temporary nurse training and patient safety, alleging they "locked away critical supplies needed to care for vulnerable newborns."
Nurses say they are demanding safer staffing levels, reduced emergency room overcrowding, improved patient-to-nurse ratios, protections against workplace violence, higher pay and preserved benefits.
Both Montefiore Health System and Mount Sinai Health System have called the union’s proposal unreasonable, claiming it would cost billions of dollars and raise average nurse salaries to nearly $250,000.
A Mount Sinai spokesperson said the hospital has sufficient resources to withstand the strike into next week. Meanwhile, roughly 15,000 nurses across the city say they will remain on the picket lines until a deal is reached.
