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Nurses go on strike at two big New York City hospitals

Published:Monday | January 9, 2023 | 9:43 AM
Zach Clapp, a nurse in the Pediatric Cardiac ICU at Mount Sinai Hospital, signs a board demanding safe staffing during a rally by NYSNA nurses from NY Presbyterian and Mount Sinai, March 16, 2021, in New York. With a strike deadline looming, contract negotiations continued Sunday, January 8, 2023, between three New York City hospitals and the union representing nearly 9,000 nurses prepared to walk out on Monday, January 9, union officials said. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Nurses at two of New York City's largest hospitals went on strike Monday in a dispute over pay and staffing levels after a weekend of negotiations did not produce a deal for a new contract.

The walkout involves as many as 3,500 nurses at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and about 3,600 at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. Patients are likely to see disruptions in care such as emergency room visits and childbirth.

The New York State Nurses Association, which represents the workers, said it was being forced into the drastic step because of chronic understaffing that leaves them caring for too many patients.

Hundreds of striking nurses chanted, waved signs and sang the chorus from Twisted Sister's 1984 hit “We're Not Gonna Take It” on Monday morning outside Mount Sinai on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

“We were heroes only two years ago,” said Warren Urquhart, a nurse in transplant and oncology units, referring to the height of the COVID-19 crisis. “We was on the front lines of the city when everything came to a stop. And now we need to come to a stop so they can understand how much we mean to this hospital and to the patients.”

Nurse practitioner Juliet Escalon said, “We were so-called heroes — and now, this is how you treat the heroes?”

The union said in a statement late Sunday, “Nurses don't want to strike. Bosses have pushed us to strike by refusing to seriously consider our proposals to address the desperate crisis of unsafe staffing that harms our patients.”

Montefiore officials said in a statement Monday, “We remain committed to seamless and compassionate care, recognising that the union leadership's decision will spark fear and uncertainty across our community.”

Mount Sinai officials said Monday, “Our first priority is the safety of our patients. We're prepared to minimise disruption, and we encourage Mount Sinai nurses to continue providing the world-class care they're known for, in spite of NYSNA's strike.”

The hospitals planned to assign managers and others not represented by the union to cover the shifts of striking workers.

Montefiore and Mount Sinai had been getting ready for a walkout by transferring patients, diverting ambulances to other institutions, postponing non-emergency medical procedures and arranging for temporary staffing.

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