NYC Mayor Mamdani, Sen. Bernie Sanders join striking nurses on picket line

There's no end in sight for the New York City nurses strike, which has stretched into its second week. 

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders joined striking nurses on the picket line on the West Side on Tuesday. 

Hospitals and emergency rooms in the NewYork-Presbyterian, Montefiore and Mount Sinai health systems remain open as the nurses continue to rally, and the hospitals told CBS News New York they will use traveling nurses for as long as needed.

Sanders rails against the health care industry

Hundreds of nurses gathered outside Mount Sinai West on 10th Avenue, and heard from Mamdani and Sanders. 

Sanders spoke at the podium first, saying it's unfair how hospital executives are paid millions, but a contract with better pay for nurses cannot be negotiated.

"Don't tell me you can't provide a good nurse-staff ratio when you are paying your CEO at NewYork-Presbyterian $26 million a year, the CEO at Montefiore $16 million a year, Mount Sinai $5 million a year," Sanders said. "The people of this country are sick and tired of the greed in the health care industry."

Mamdani's appearance on Tuesday marked his second day joining the picket line. The mayor stood by nurses on the first day of their strike.

"This is about safe working conditions. This is about a fair contract. This is about dignity. And today is day nine -- day nine -- of those demands, and I want you to know that wherever I go in New York City, I hear about the plight of our nurses," Mamdani said. "Now is your time of need, where we can ensure that this is a city that you don't just work in but a city that you can also live in."

Mamdani said he is pushing for all sides to go back to the negotiating table to achieve a "swift and urgent resolution."

Dr. Karen Boroff is a professor of management at Seton Hall University.

"The longer you're out, generally speaking, people want, expect more in return. So it becomes that much more difficult to strike a bargain," Boroff said.

What striking NYC nurses want

The nurses went on strike nine days ago, and say they're not backing down from what they're demanding of NewYork-Presbyterian, Mount Sinai Health, and Montefiore. 

Negotiations remain at a standstill, and no additional negotiations are scheduled. NewYork-Presbyterian said it's working with a mediator to schedule the next bargaining session. 

The New York State Nurses Association is calling for better staffing ratios, protection from workplace violence, and improved health care benefits. 

"We are so fortunate to have the support of our community and allies, who truly energize our movement as we picket through the bitter cold," NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said. "We need hospital management to understand that we are out here fighting for the safety of our patients and nurses, so that every patient can have a qualified nurse at their bedside. Hospital management must take action to maintain our health benefits, guarantee enforceable safe staffing, and make hospitals safer workplaces." 

The hospitals' side

The hospitals continue to push back, calling the union's demands unreasonable. NewYork-Presbyterian says its nurses are among the highest paid in the city, with a current average annual compensation of $163,000, and added NYSNA's demands for a 25% wage hike over three years are "unrealistic." 

"Despite our best efforts to negotiate, a near-term path to an agreement is very unlikely," Mt. Sinai Health CEO Brendan Carr said in a statement Monday. "Over the weekend, our operational teams extended our plans to run the Health System without the support of the nurses NYSNA leadership has convinced to strike."

A Montefiore spokesperson told CBS News New York, in part, "until they can back away from their reckless and dangerous $3.6 billion demands, progress overall will not be possible."

On the picket line

Hundreds of nurses have shown up each day on the picket line, through all kinds of weather. Many say they'd rather been inside caring for patients, but until there's progress, they're staying put.

"I've been loyal to them since my 20s. I've always been there and made so many sacrifices -- holidays, leaving my family," one nurse said.

Tamika Maurice works at Mount Sinai West, where nurses say the health system is threatening to take away their health benefits.

"I have two children and it's just me, so there's no one I can get health insurance for for my children. So if I give up on this fight then I go and the insurance get cut, I have to pay out of pocket for three of us," Maurice said.

Mount Sinai has said it has not proposed any changes to nurses' health care plans, and it has offered an annual increase for compensation that would apply to continuing to cover benefits. On Friday, Carr said in a letter, "We are onboarding an additional complement of agency nurses focused on specialty areas so that we can rapidly bring our scheduled surgical volumes back to normal."