15K Nurses Strike, Disrupting Care At East Side Hospitals

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Five private hospitals, including Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital on the East Side, are without nearly 15,000 nurses, who are striking for higher wages and health care benefits, starting Monday.

According to the New York State Nurses Association, the contract for the union expired on Dec. 31, and hospitals had until Jan. 12 to reach an agreement with the union.

The nurse union said that, in addition to higher wages and health care benefits, the union is striking for improved pension plans and protection from workplace violence, highlighting the recent active shooter situation at Mount Sinai on East 100th Street in November.

"Unfortunately, greedy hospital executives have decided to put profits above safe patient care and force nurses out on strike when we would rather be at the bedsides of our patients," New York State Nurses Association President Nancy Hagans said. "It is shameful that the city’s richest hospitals refuse to continue healthcare benefits for frontline nurses, refuse to staff safely for our patients, and refuse to protect us from workplace violence."

One of the union's demands is to add weapons detection systems at every hospital entrance and to increase security, union representatives said at a rally in early December.

So far, the city's eight public "safety net" hospitals have made initial agreements with the union.

In addition to higher wages, benefits and safety protocols, key sticking points in the negotiations include the use of artificial intelligence and more robust staffing, the union said.

Lucia Lee, a Mount Sinai spokesperson, said the hospital's three Manhattan branches are operating with 1,400 non-unionized nurses on Monday.

"Unfortunately, NYSNA decided to move forward with its strike while refusing to move on from its extreme economic demands, which we cannot agree to, but we are ready with 1,400 qualified and specialized nurses — and prepared to continue to provide safe patient care for as long as this strike lasts," Lee said.

Here are the hospitals affected as of Monday.

• Mount Sinai Hospital
• Mount Sinai West
• Mount Sinai Morningside
• NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
• Montefiore Medical Center

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