Nurses in New York City strike over wages and staffing levels

Greater than 7,000 nurses are on strike at two NYC hospitals, stating that low wages and staffing ranges have squeezed employees.

Nurses at two main hospitals in New York Metropolis have gone on strike, citing low wages and staffing ranges which have left many exhausted a number of years into the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday, about 3,600 nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital on the Higher East Aspect of Manhattan and as many as 3,500 at Montefiore Medical Heart within the Bronx began their strike.

“We have been heroes solely two years in the past,” stated Warren Urquhart, a nurse in transplant and oncology items. “We was on the entrance strains of town when every part got here to a cease. And now we have to come to a cease to allow them to perceive how a lot we imply to this hospital and to the sufferers.”

The COVID-19 pandemic crammed United States hospitals and heaped pressure on medical employees, lots of whom started to rethink their future within the occupation as hospitals noticed massive income. In line with a 2022 survey by ShiftMed, about two-thirds of nurses stated that they have been contemplating leaving the occupation inside two years.

The nurse’s union, the New York State Nurses Affiliation (NYSNA), has stated that staffing shortages on the New York Metropolis hospitals have left some employees caring for twice as many sufferers as is regular.

“We will not maintain what’s taking place,” Michelle Gonzalez, a registered nurse at Montefiore, instructed Al Jazeera. “We’ve been attempting so exhausting to inform the hospital to make adjustments. We don’t need to do that however we really feel like we've got no different choices.”

Jed Basubas stated that he cares for between eight and 10 sufferers at a time, and nurse practitioner Juliet Escalon stated that she typically skips lavatory breaks to take care of sufferers. Ashleigh Woodside stated that her 12-hour working room shifts incessantly change into 14-hour ones, as low staffing ranges push employees to tackle longer shifts.

Elected officers have weighed in, some providing phrases of encouragement.

“Nurses have been by hell and again for his or her sufferers,” stated New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman. “I stand with NYSNA nurses as they struggle for truthful office circumstances.”

It was an honor to hitch @nynurses this morning on the picket line.

If CEOs can double their pay, we may give our nurses a good contract.@MontefioreNYC and @MountSinaiNYC it is time so that you can step up and get a good contract carried out TODAY! pic.twitter.com/PrDdMwY8OH

— Jamaal Bowman Ed.D (@JamaalBowmanNY) January 9, 2023

Montefiore and Mount Sinai stated that they'd taken steps to minimise disruptions through the strike and would lean on non permanent staffers, divert ambulances to different medical centres, and postpone nonemergency surgical procedures.

Montefiore stated that it had agreed to rent greater than 170 extra nurses, and Mount Sinai stated that it had made progress “to draw and rent extra new nurses, regardless of a worldwide scarcity of healthcare employees that's impacting hospitals throughout the nation”.

“We stay dedicated to seamless and compassionate care, recognizing that the union management’s choice will spark worry and uncertainty throughout our neighborhood,” Montefiore stated. “This can be a unhappy day for New York Metropolis.”

Mount Sinai referred to as the union “reckless”.

“We love our job. We need to maintain our sufferers. However we simply need to do it safely and in a humane manner, the place we really feel appreciated,” stated Woodside, who has been a nurse for eight years.

NYSNA had initially acknowledged that different hospitals may launch strikes on the identical day as Mount Sinai and Montefiore, for a complete of about 16,000 nurses.

Nonetheless, a number of have reached tentative agreements which have lowered the chance of the strikes. Nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital reached a possible deal on Saturday that will increase staffing ranges and boosts pay by 18 p.c over a three-year interval.

Since contract negotiations began 4 months in the past, the union has reached tentative agreements at seven different New York Metropolis hospitals.