Nurses at two of New York City's largest hospitals went on strike on 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 Centre 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.
“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,” the union said in a statement late on Sunday.
Montefiore officials said in a statement on Monday, “We remain committed to seamless and compassionate care, recognising that the union leadership's decision will spark fear and uncertainty across our community.”
The hospital planned to assign managers not represented by the union to cover nursing shifts.
Mount Sinai officials said on 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.”
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.
Gov. Kathy Hochul urged the union and the hospitals late Sunday to take their dispute to binding arbitration.
Montefiore's administration had said it was willing to let an arbitrator settle the contract “as a means to reaching an equitable outcome”.
The union did not immediately accept the proposal. In a statement, it said Hochul, a Democrat, “should listen to the frontline COVID nurse heroes and respect our federally-protected labour and collective bargaining rights”.
Montefiore and Mount Sinai are the last of a group of hospitals with contracts with the union that expired simultaneously. The Nurses Association had initially warned that it would strike at all of them at the same time — a potential calamity even in a city with as many hospitals as New York.
But one by one, the other hospitals struck agreements with the union as the deadline approached.