Approximately 15,000 nurses in New York City quit their jobs to demand better working conditions, resulting in the largest nurses’ strike in the city’s history after failing to reach a contract agreement.
Employees at three private hospital systems in the nation’s largest city – Mount Sinai, Montefiore and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital – finished work early Monday.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
“After months of negotiations, management has refused to make meaningful progress on the core issues nurses have been fighting for, including safe patient staffing, medical benefits for nurses, and protection from workplace violence,” the New York State Nursing Association said in a statement Monday.
“The leadership of New York City’s wealthiest hospital is threatening to cut off or significantly reduce nurses’ health benefits,” the nursing organization added.
NewYork-Presbyterian Church reported 2024 net income of $547 million. Mount Sinai reported $114 million and Montefiore $288.62 million, according to ProPublica’s nonprofit tracker, which monitors nonprofit finances. These three hospitals oversee the nonprofit’s finances.
The striking nurses claim hospital management is threatening to cut their medical benefits. The union claims the hospital is trying to roll back safe staffing standards. Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify the validity of these claims.
As the strain on the health care system increased during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, New York State signed a law in 2021 that requires each facility to create a committee to outline department-specific staffing plans, including a minimum 1-to-2 nurse-to-patient ratio in critical care units.
“We cannot separate this from New York’s experience with COVID-19. COVID-19 has tested our health care system, especially nurses. The last strike was in 2023, we continue to face chronic staffing shortages, and we feel overstretched,” Lindsey Boylan, a community activist who was on the picket line Monday morning, told Al Jazeera.
In 2023, after a three-day strike, nurses successfully forced the hospital system to enforce these standards across all hospital departments through mediation.
The union claims the hospital is rolling back standards and that hospital management is not agreeing to calls for better protections for workers amid rising workplace violence. Union representatives told Al Jazeera that the request also includes installing metal detectors at hospital entrances.
The walkout comes amid growing concerns about hospital safety following the November shooting at Mount Sinai Hospital and last week’s shooting at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in Brooklyn.
Mount Sinai also allegedly disciplined nurses who raised concerns about union-busting allegations, resulting in a complaint filed with the National Labor Relations Board in October.
Al Jazeera has contacted NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, Montefiore Hospital, and Mount Sinai Hospital for comment.
A spokesperson for NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital told Al Jazeera in a statement: “We are prepared to continue negotiating fair and reasonable contracts that reflect our respect for nurses and the critical role they play, and also recognize the difficult realities of today’s healthcare environment. We have proposed significant wage increases that will keep nurses among the highest paid in the city.”
The hospital did not respond to requests for details. The union told Al Jazeera that the hospital provided the nurses with a one-time payment of $4,500 that could be used to cover medical benefits, staffing and wages.
Representatives for Mount Sinai Hospital and Montefiore did not respond to requests for comment.
unified nurse
“The fact that the people who provide health care have to seek medical care is ironic and infuriating,” Alex Boaz, a state representative and candidate for Congress in New York’s 12th District, told Al Jazeera. Boales was on the picket line early Monday morning.
“The energy was incredible. Even though it was 6 o’clock in the morning and still dark, people were marching and chanting. Everyone was energized and ready to fight. There was no hesitation or fear. It was clear that the nurses were united and ready to go far,” Boas added.
The strike comes at the height of a severe flu season, with hospitalizations in New York reaching record highs. During the week of December 20, nearly 9% of emergency department visits were due to influenza. Since then, infection rates have begun to decline, according to city health data.
“this [the severe flu season] This leads to an increase in the number of people needing to be seen in emergency rooms and hospitals. As a result, staffing needs have actually increased, making this a particularly difficult time in which we are unable to retain all medical professionals,” said Bruce Y. Lee, professor of health policy and management at the State University of New York School of Public Health and Health Policy.
In the week of January 3, the most recent data available, influenza cases diagnosed in emergency departments decreased to 5%.
Healthcare demands may give nurses more leverage in negotiations.
“I think it’s a huge impact right now. New Yorkers understand the role that nurses have played during the pandemic and beyond. We’re in the middle of a very difficult flu season right now, and we’re all realizing how important nurses are and how overworked they are,” Boylan added.
political test
The strike poses a major political test at both the city and state level. Gov. Kathy Hochul is up for re-election, and the recent victory of pro-labor Zoran Mamdani in New York’s mayoral race has increased pressure on her to side with progressives across the state.
“My top priority is to protect patients and ensure they get the care they need. At the same time, we need to reach an agreement that recognizes the important work nurses do every day on the front lines of our health care system,” Hochul said in a statement Sunday night.
Representatives for the governor did not respond to requests for additional comment after the nurses officially began their strike.
The strike took place in the early days of Mamdani’s government and is an important political test for the city’s new mayor, who has historically been pro-labor.
“There were so many people, there were people on both sides of the street,” Boylan added.
In response to a request for comment from the mayor’s office, senior spokesperson Dora Pekek referred Al Jazeera to a post that Mamdani published on X on Sunday night ahead of the strike.
“New Yorkers should not fear losing access to health care, and nurses should not be asked to accept reduced pay, reduced benefits, or less dignity in order to do their lifesaving work. Our nurses have kept this city alive through the most difficult of times. Their values are non-negotiable,” Mamdani wrote.
On Monday, the mayor joined picketers in front of a Manhattan hospital.
“This strike is not just about nurses’ hourly wages or the health benefits they receive, although both issues are very important. It’s also about who is entitled to the benefits of this system,” Mamdani said at a press conference.
A spokesperson did not respond to a request for further comment.
