feature image: al jazeera
According to the New York State Nurses Association, which represents the nurses in question, the planned strike is a result of the hospitals’ chronic understaffing, which leaves nurses with too many patients to care for. This has led the nurses to take the drastic step of going on strike.
Approximately 3,500 nurses at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and 3,600 nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan are set to go on strike at 6 a.m. due to chronic understaffing that has left them with too many patients to care for. The hospitals have taken measures to prepare for the strike, including transferring patients, diverting ambulances to other institutions, postponing nonemergency procedures, and bringing in temporary staffing. The New York State Nurses Association, which represents the nurses, stated that the strike is a last resort and that the hospitals have refused to seriously consider their proposals to address the issue of unsafe staffing.
Governor Kathy Hochul has called for the nurses union and the hospitals to take their dispute to binding arbitration. Montefiore Medical Center’s administration has stated that it is willing to use an arbitrator to reach a fair resolution to the contract dispute. The union has not immediately accepted this proposal and has stated that Hochul should respect their federally-protected labor and collective bargaining rights. The contract between the nurses union and Montefiore and Mount Sinai hospitals expired simultaneously with the contracts at other hospitals in the area, but the nurses association has only announced a strike at these two hospitals. The potential for a simultaneous strike at all hospitals had initially been a concern, as it could have caused significant disruptions in healthcare in New York City.