NEW YORK – Nurses at several private hospitals in New York City will go on strike next month, a move that could turn the current “triple epidemic” into a full-blown crisis.
Hospital sources told our sister network NBC 4 that the nurses’ union notified Montefiore and Mount Sinai management of their intention to strike within 10 days, effective January 9.
The move follows a vote at the polls to authorize a strike before their contracts expire on Dec. 31.
(While the association is jointly negotiating a common platform for all of its members, the nurses at each of the hospitals have separate contracts, so it’s possible one facility could vote to strike while another couldn’t.)
The New York State Nurses Association has 17,000 members in 12 hospitals subject to that impending deadline. The union says members are upset by staffing reports at local hospitals, proposed contracts they believe drastically worsen their health care benefits, and Mayor Eric Adams’ recent decision to forcibly hospitalize psychiatric patients.
The union did not immediately comment on Friday’s reports that the nurses were going on strike.
Earlier, Mt. Sinai Hospital said that while negotiations “can be loud and bumpy at times,” they are “committed to negotiating in good faith at all times to ensure fairness and fiscal accountability” and are “confident” they will come to a deal . .
Governor Kathy Hochul’s office said they were “monitoring the situation.”
All of this comes as the city grapples with what’s being referred to as a triplademia: severe and simultaneous spikes in COVID-19 infections, influenza, and respiratory condition RSV.
The City has already issued a notice (but not a warrant) suggesting that people go back to wearing masks indoors.
