NYC nurses strike tentative deals on more key issues on Day 25, but not enough to end work stoppage, union says

On Day 25 of the New York City nurses strike, union members said they reached a tentative agreement with hospitals on more key issues in the negotiations. 

Nurses rallied Thursday outside The Mount Sinai Hospital on Manhattan's Upper East Side, saying the New York State Nurses Association has more to do at the bargaining table, though they are closer to a deal. 

More than a dozen people were arrested at another rally linked to the nurses strike on the West Side, according to the NYPD. Police said 13 were taken into custody after a group blocked the entrance to 555 West 57th Street and refused to disperse. 

Nurses, hospitals reach tentative agreements

NYSNA has been negotiating for over three weeks with Mount Sinai, Mount Sinai Morningside, Mount Sinai West, Montefiore Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Nurses said the sides agreed to artificial intelligence protections and some issues at the individual hospitals, more than a week after the union said they had another tentative deal on health care benefits, a key piece of the puzzle. 

The remaining sticking points, according to the nurses, are mainly safe staffing standards to protect patients and nurse protections from workplace violence. 

Striking nurses rally on Day 25

Speakers at the East Side rally said they're motivated to achieve their ultimate goal of a fair contract. 

"We are negotiating in good faith. It's time to negotiate to have us better staffing in order to protect our patients, to protect the nurses and the patient from the workplace violence. When it comes to a patient's care, we will not cut corners," one speaker said. 

"There is money there. There's money there, and all the nurses are saying is give us our fair share because we are doing the job that you asked us to do," New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said. 

Negotiations are ongoing between the nurses union and hospitals at the Javits Center.