Talks among hospitals and nurses remain stalled on the second day of what the New York State Nurses Association says is the largest nurses strike in city history, according to a spokesperson for the union.
Nearly 15,000 nurses went on strike at hospitals run by Mount Sinai Health System, Montefiore Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian early Monday after the nurses union announced Sunday evening that the parties were making little progress toward reaching deals on new contracts. Their previous contracts expired Dec. 31.
Hospitals and nurses did not return to the negotiating table Monday as the strike got underway and there were no sessions scheduled as of Tuesday morning, according to the Nurses Association.
NewYork-Presbyterian has “offered to continue bargaining all week,” hospital spokesperson Angela Karafazli said Tuesday. Representatives for Mount Sinai and Montefiore did not immediately comment Tuesday on whether they had offered to resume negotiations.
Both union leaders and hospital representatives have said in recent days they have seen little movement at the bargaining table and still have a long way to go to come to new contract agreements.
Hospital representatives say they are bringing in outside nurses and making other preparations to maintain patient services during the strike, and city and state officials say they are working to help hospitals avoid disruptions in care.
We want to hear from our readers and listeners: Has the strike affected you personally? Let us know here.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has expressed concerns that the work stoppage could put patients at risk and has urged nurses and hospital management to reach an agreement as soon as possible.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani made a similar plea before a large crowd of nurses on the picket line outside NewYork-Presbyterian’s Milstein Hospital in Washington Heights on Monday.
“All parties must return immediately to the negotiating table and not leave,” Mamdani said. “They must bargain in good faith.”
Representatives for Mount Sinai, Montefiore and NewYork-Presbyterian have said that nurses’ proposed salary and benefits packages would add billions of dollars to their expenses in the coming years, which they have said would exacerbate the financial pressures they’re anticipating from federal health care cuts.
The Nurses Association, meanwhile, says hospitals have failed to make meaningful counter-proposals and that nurses are still clashing with management over demands related to staffing, health benefits and increased hospital security measures.
“Nurses do not want to strike, but our bosses have forced us out on strike,” NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said.
The union has called off planned strikes at other hospitals it was negotiating with in recent weeks after reaching or making progress toward tentative agreements.
