Dive Brief:
- Some 12,000 nurses across seven hospitals in New York plan to strike without a set end date starting Monday, according to a release from the New York State Nurses Association.
- The nurses work at BronxCare Health System, Flushing Hospital Medical Center, Maimonides Medical Center, Montefiore Bronx, Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside and West and Richmond University Medical Center.
- About 4,000 nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital also planned to strike, though they reached a tentative agreement with the hospital a day after delivering notice of their plans to walk off the job.
Dive Insight:
The strike would be a first for nurses in the new year, after employees across the country walked off the job in 2022 for new contract measures they say will improve working conditions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This winter, nurses have dealt with ongoing COVID-19 cases alongside an influx of RSV and flu patients, further straining hospitals as facilities face pandemic-driven worker shortages, according to NYSNA.
Nurses in New York want new contracts to ensure adequate staffing and support for staff, including improvements to stem widespread turnover and burnout, the union said in a release.
The deal reached at NewYork-Presbyterian includes terms to help recruit and retain more nurses, according to the union, though further details have not been released.
Nearly 99% of nurses voted in favor of authorizing the strike, according to the union.
Nurses delivered an official 10-day notice to the systems that they intend to strike on Friday, and contracts expired Saturday.
The nurses and systems will continue bargaining throughout the week as they work to reach a deal before the work stoppage, according to a union release.
Maimonides Medical Center will continue negotiating with nurses and is optimistic a deal can be made before the strike, according to an email statement. The system is also preparing to keep the hospital operative if the work stoppage does occur, the statement said. The other hospitals involved did not respond to requests for comment.