Contract negotiations continue to prevent thousands of New York City nurses from going on strike
NEW YORK -- Contract negotiations are still underway to keep thousands of New York City nurses from walking off the job.
The nurses are seeking raises that keep up with inflation and for hospitals to hire more staff.
Without an agreement, about 12,000 nurses across the city will go on strike Jan. 9.
READ MORE: Nurses at 7 New York City hospitals set strike date
The job action will impact seven hospitals, which have been in talks with the nurses' union since September.
Their contract expired Dec. 31.
"If the employer really wanted to have an agreement with us instead of them spending $100 or $30 million to bring temporary agents in, I would urge them to sit at the table and take that fund and put it towards hiring more nurses and put it toward fair wages," said Nancy Hagans, a registered nurse at Maimonides Medical Center and president of the New York State Nurses Association.
New York Presbyterian reached a tentative agreement late New Year's Eve for close to 4,000 nurses.
