NYC nurses on strike and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital to resume negotiations
At least one hospital impacted by the New York City nurses strike is returning to the bargaining table Thursday night.
It comes as the largest nurses strike in the city's history has stretched into its fourth day, and is expected to go longer than the 2023 walkout.
Nearly 15,000 nurses across three major hospital networks are involved. NewYork-Presbyterian said it will resume bargaining with the nurses union Thursday evening, with the help of a mediator.
Nurses were joined by FDNY firefighters at Mount Sinai Morningside.
Hospital leaders at NewYork-Presbyterian, Montefiore and Mount Sinai say they're maintaining operations with travel nurses and other personnel. Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside, Mount Sinai West and NewYork-Presbyterian in Manhattan and Montefiore Einstein in the Bronx are the impacted hospitals.
The New York State Nurses Association, or NYSNA, has accused the three hospital systems of refusing to compromise on improving staffing levels, health care benefits, and boosting workplace safety.
"These greedy employers brag about spending millions to replace their own nurses with replacements that are not as highly qualified," NYSNA president Nancy Hagans said. "My message to you - take those millions, invest them into our communities, invest them into safe patient care, invest it into medical coverage, invest it toward workers protection."
All three hospitals continue to push back. Mount Sinai said NYSNA has not provided a reasonable offer, and instead it's "sticking to proposals that would cost $1.6 billion over three years just at The Mount Sinai Hospital, raising average nurse pay to close to $250,000, which is before factoring in contributions we make to benefits."
All of the impacted hospitals remain open. They have brought in travel nurses to help staff with operations.
Despite all the finger pointing, the union and hospital leadership are expected to return to the bargaining table Thursday night.