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Approximately 15,000 nurses in New York walked off the job at hospitals early Monday morning to join the largest strike in the sector in the city's history, after negotiators for five major hospitals and the state nurses' union failed to reach an agreement on a new contract.
The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), which represents professionals at Montefiore Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian, and Mount Sinai Health System, is demanding salary increases to offset inflation, while also fighting to maintain the staffing shortage protections they secured after a three-day walkout three years ago.
The annual salary for a nurse in New York is approximately $85,000 to $117,000, according to Glassdoor.
"A strike is always a last resort. But the greed of the administration at these highly wealthy private hospitals has left frontline nurses no other choice," NYSNA announced in a statement on Monday.
The strike follows months of negotiations over new three-year contracts to replace the union's previous collective bargaining agreements, which expired on December 31.
Hospitals will remain open and care will continue during the strike, at a time when the state is recording a record number of flu cases.
"Our message to New Yorkers: If you are sick, please do not delay seeking medical care during our strike. We would rather be the ones providing that care, but our bosses have forced us to strike," the union association highlighted in its statement.
For their part, hospital spokespeople have insisted that the union's demands are unreasonable and would cost them billions of dollars at a time when they are already bracing for federal funding cuts.
In a statement issued Sunday night, New York Governor Kathy Hochul assured that the state's Department of Health will have personnel at all affected hospitals during the strike to ensure patient safety and continuity of care.
Meanwhile, New York City Council member Zohran Mamdani noted on his social media on Sunday night that "no New Yorker should fear losing access to medical care, and no nurse should be asked to accept less pay, fewer benefits, or less dignity for doing life-saving work."
[Publicidad]