NEW YORK CITY (WABC) — Thousands of nurses at hospitals across New York City and Long Island delivered a 10-day strike notice on Friday.
The New York State Nurses Association says 20,000 nurses at a dozen private-sector hospitals could walk off the job on January 12 after their contract expired on December 31.
It would be the biggest nurse strike in New York City history if hospitals do not agree to contracts.
The hospitals include ones operated by Mount Sinai, New York-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia University Medical Center and Montefiore.
“Management is refusing to guarantee our healthcare benefits and trying to roll back the safe staffing standards we fought for and won. We have been bargaining for months, but hospitals have not done nearly enough to settle fair contracts that protect patient care,” NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, said.
They could be joined by 1,000 more nurses at 3 Northwell Hospitals on Long Island.
The key points in contract negotiations are healthcare benefits for frontline nurses and staffing standards.
A spokesperson for Mount Sinai released a statement saying, “After only a day of working with a mediator at one of our hospitals, NYSNA is yet again threatening to force nurses to walk away from patients’ bedsides – this time while continuing to insist on increasing average nurse pay by $100,000. NYSNAhas acknowledged that federal funding cuts will cost New York hospitals $8 billion and 35,000 jobs, but just three years after its last strikethe union is showing once again it is willing to use patients as bargaining chipsthis time while pushing billions of dollars in economic demands that would compromise the financial health of our entire system and threaten the financial stability of hospitals across New York City. We will continue to work in good faith to reach an agreement before the strike, however, after months of preparation, our system is ready for every outcome so we can maintain high-quality patient care and continue to serve our patients and communities across New York.”
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