In what could escalate into the largest nurse strike New York City has ever witnessed, the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) delivered a stark 10-day notice to a slew of private sector hospitals across the area, CBS News reports. If the hospitals—encompassing notable names like Mount Sinai, New York-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia University Medical Center, and Montefiore—fail to secure contract agreements by January 12, up to 20,000 nurses have indicated they will walk out.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans detailed that the crux of their demands revolves around healthcare benefits for frontline nurses and upholding safe staffing standards, key provisions they claim hospitals are trying to undercut, according to an ABC7NY article, with the current contracts having expired as the year wound down on December 31. Furthermore, up to 1,000 more nurses across three Northwell Hospitals on Long Island could be joining the potential action, the association says, propelling the movement's momentum.
On the defense, hospital administrators have expressed their consternation and described the looming strike as reckless, especially in light of recent funding cuts. Kenneth E. Raske, President of the Greater New York Hospital Association, painted a dire picture in a statement obtained by CBS News, highlighting the nonrefundable financial ramifications of pre-emptive measures such as hiring outside agency nurses and the potentially devastating impact on safety net hospitals with limited resources.
The hospitals involved issued statements to various news outlets encapsulating their readiness for all possible outcomes while emphasizing their stance of bargaining in good faith for fair contracts that balance respect for nurses with the fiscal health of their operations, CBS News and ABC7NY report. NewYork-Presbyterian described NYSNA's wage increase demands as unrealistic and claimed that the association hadn't budged from their nearly 30% increase proposal over three years, stressing collective bargaining relies on compromise from both ends to be successful.
Amid the intense negotiations and public statements, Simone Way, a nurse at Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital and executive committee member of NYSNA, told CBS News she remains hopeful that the hospitals will present "realistic, real options" to negotiate across the table.
