{"id":100509,"date":"2026-01-14T21:32:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T21:32:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/100509\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T21:32:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T21:32:27","slug":"montefiore-nurses-on-strike-accuse-management-of-bronx-disinvestment-corporate-greed-bronx-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/100509\/","title":{"rendered":"Montefiore nurses on strike accuse management of Bronx disinvestment, corporate greed \u2013 Bronx Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the third day<\/a> of the nurses\u2019 strike, Montefiore nurses, elected officials and community supporters held another rally, accusing hospital management of greed and investing less in Bronx patients compared to those in Westchester County.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nearly 15,000 members of the New York State Nurses\u2019 Association (NYSNA) from prominent New York City private hospitals \u2014 Montefiore, New York-Presbyterian and Mount Sinai \u2014 walked off the job on Monday. <\/p>\n

Since then, hundreds have picketed outside each Montefiore campus from morning to night, using music, bullhorns, whistles, bells and signs to draw attention. Today\u2019s rally at the Moses Campus on East 210th Street drew an even bigger crowd, requiring a heavier police presence to clear the pedestrian walkway and keep congested traffic moving.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Standing near the emergency room doors with a giant inflatable rat in the background, several members of the nurses\u2019 union spoke to the crowd, as did a cardiology doctor, reprepsenatives of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition and a slew of elected officials \u2014 Bronx Borough President Vanessa, Council Members Shirley Aldebol, Eric Dinowitz and Pierina Sanchez, Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz, Senator Nathalia Fernandez, Brooklyn Assembly Member Brian Cunningham and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"A slew of elected officials from the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn came in support of the nurses on strike. Photo by Emily Swanson<\/p>\n

Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, former NYSNA president, told the crowd that the union\u2019s fight is \u201cway bigger than a contract.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur fight is for the soul of this hospital, for the practice of nursing and for the defense of our marginalized communities that are being treated like second-class citizens,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sheridan-Gonzalez said that Montefiore epitomizes a \u201ctwo-tier health system\u201d in the state.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe patients in White Plains get private rooms, get millions of dollars invested in the physical plant, while our patients languish in emergency rooms for days at a time, packed in like sardines,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cHospitals should be humanitarian locations, not places to collect money, but that\u2019s what it\u2019s become.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Erika Perrotta, a Montefiore emergency department nurse who grew up in the Norwood neighborhood, said the corporation is currently working on a project that will double the size<\/a> of the White Plains emergency room. The new building, slated for completion in 2028, is expected to cost $750 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, last spring, management proposed a \u201crestructuring\u201d<\/a> plan for the Bronx facility that would reduce the number of beds and result in patients being transferred to suburban hospitals. Nurses also rallied against that move. <\/p>\n

According to a Montefiore spokesperson, patients\u2019 wait times in the emergency department, either to go home or to a clinical bed, have reduced significantly since 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, the Bronx emergency room is still plagued by \u201cchronic overcrowding,\u201d according to Perrotta. Patients are packed in \u201cto the point where you cannot walk from one side of the department to the other to reach your patient, and it\u2019s unacceptable,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To Perrotta, the disparity is stark. \u201cWhy is it that when a patient lives in the wrong zip code, or doesn\u2019t look like the patients that live in White Plains, that they get subpar care?\u201d<\/p>\n

Several speakers also pointed out that Montefiore\u2019s CEO, Dr. Philip Ozuah<\/a>, took in $16.5 million in total compensation in 2024, making him the state\u2019s second-highest paid hospital executive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Erika Perrotta, an emergency department nurse who grew up near Montefiore, said she believes the corporation is investing more in White Plains patients at the expense of those in the Bronx. Photo by Emily Swanson<\/p>\n

In a statement sent to the Bronx Times, a Montefiore spokesperson refuted the accusation that Bronx investment is lagging. He cited the opening of a 21-bed pediatric psychiatric facility<\/a> in the Bronx in late November, designed to address mental health needs in the borough and reduce emergency room visits, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The spokesperson also sent several workplace safety initiatives and said that Montefiore\u2019s nurse turnover rate is better than the national average, having improved 51% since 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, the rally showed that the battle between nurses and management is getting ugly.\n<\/p>\n

NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, who at times shouted angrily into the microphone, said the union has shown up ready to negotiate since October, while \u201cmanagement decided to stay in their office eating bonbons and not showing up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ask that you don\u2019t leave our patients in the hallway for days,\u201d Hagans shouted.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will negotiate fair wages,\u201d Hagans said. \u201cBut we will not cut corners when it comes to patient care.\u201d\u00a0
\n\"\"As the rally ended, nurses marched down East 210th Street and around the building.Photo by Emily Swanson\n<\/p>\n

Elected officials pledged to support the nurses, regardless of how long the strike lasts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Aldebol, who was a 32BJ SEIU union executive before her election to City Council in November, said she was especially disturbed by the news that three Mount Sinai nurses were fired<\/a> just before the strike began.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hospital management accused the nurses of hiding supplies and undermining pre-strike preparation efforts, but the fired nurses denied that claim, saying they were let go in retaliation for the union\u2019s actions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUnion busting is disgusting,\u201d Aldebol said, as the nurses chanted with her. \u201cThis is a union town, and New Yorkers are not gonna tolerate it.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Reach Emily Swanson at\u00a0eswanson@schnepsmedia.com<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0(646) 717-0015<\/a>. For more coverage, subscribe to our\u00a0newsletter<\/a>\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>!<\/p>\n

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