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Largest Nurses Strike in NYC History Continues Into Second Week

Negotiations broke down after New York State Nurses Associations submitted a revised set of proposals with Mount Sinai, Montefiore and NewYork-Presbyterian, to no avail.

By Indypendent Staff Jan 21

The largest nurses strike in city history is on it’s 10th day, after reports that contract negotiations stalled over the weekend.

According to the New York State Nurses Associations (NYSNA), negotiations broke down after NYSNA submitted a revised set of proposals with Mount Sinai, Montefiore and NewYork-Presbyterian, to no avail. Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian rejected these proposals, and though Montefiore submitted counterproposals addressing workplace violence during a marathon bargaining session Sunday evening, the talks went nowhere, reports The City.

15,000 nurses from Mount Sinai, Montefiore and NewYork-Presbyterian are refusing to work until their hospital systems provide better patient to staff rations, improved safety, and the retention of their current health benefits. Yesterday morning, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Senator Bernie Sanders visited the picket line, showing support for the nurses as they continue their fight for dignity in their workplace and urging both the union and the hospitals back to the bargaining table, which they are scheduled to do tomorrow.

The Indy went to the picket line last week and talked to a few striking nurses (all videos by Sue Brisk).

“We just want management to be human,” says Chevon Liu, a 14-year nurse at Mt. Sinai Morningside. She says the strike by 15,000 nurse by New York State Nurses Association is not about money, but workplace safety, mandatory staffing ratios and maintaining their health care coverage.

“We care for the sick and we need to keep our current health care,” says Jamie Bowser who works in the inpatient adult psych unit at Mount Sinai Morningside. She, like many other nurses and their supporters, is horrified by the hospitals attempt to reduce their healthcare.

Ana, an ICU nurse @ Mt. Sinai Morningside, describes how winning enforceable staffing ratios in their 2023 contract transformed their workplace and improved patient care. Management is now trying to claw back those historic gains, but she says that New York State Nurses Association will not back down so easily.

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