Nurses strike threat: Deals near with five ‘safety net hospitals,’ but 17,000 caregivers still posed to walk off job next week

Nurses from five private hospitals in Brooklyn and Staten Island who were set to strike later this month have rescinded their Jan. 2 strike notice as they neared tentative agreements with management, according to the union representing them.

The news comes as a Jan. 12 strike deadline approaches, and nurses at seven other NYC hospitals remain poised to walk out unless management meets their demands.

Over 16,700 nurses at seven private NYC hospitals could still strike next week after negotiations with hospital leadership over healthcare and workplace violence protections, wages and staffing remain at an impasse. Affected hospitals include Montefiore Medical Center, Mount Sinai Hospitals, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia University Medical Center, Brooklyn Hospital Center, BronxCare Health System and Flushing Hospital.

But on Jan. 6, the nurses at five medical centers, who are all members of the New York State Nurses Association, reached tentative agreements with their employers: One Brooklyn Health’s Interfaith Medical Center, One Brooklyn Health’s Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, Maimonides Medical Center, Wyckoff Heights Medical Center and Richmond University Medical Center.

The union said the nurses at these “safety net hospitals” would continue bargaining this week with the “mutual goal of settling their contracts” by Friday.

“Our safety-net hospitals are taking significant steps toward settling fiscally responsible contracts that protect nurses and patients, while rich private hospitals like Montefiore, Mount Sinai, and NewYork-Presbyterian continue to throw away hundreds of millions of dollars to fight against frontline nurses,” NYSNA president and Maimonides nurse Nancy Hagans, RN, said.

Nurses chant outside Mount Sinai Hospital during the first day of the NYSNA strike on Jan. 9, 2023.Photo by Dean Moses

She applauded the safety net hospitals for negotiating with the nurses.

“The safety-net hospitals that care for New York City’s most vulnerable patients are doing the right thing by guaranteeing healthcare benefits for nurses and agreeing to stronger safe staffing standards and protections from workplace violence,” she said. “New York City’s wealthiest hospitals should follow their lead.”

Management responds

A spokesperson for Mount Sinai told amNewYork in a statement that management is preparing for a strike. It is something they are already familiar with, as nurses at the medical center went on strike for three days before winning a historic contract in 2023.

“While we are continuing to work to reach a deal to provide nurses with exceptional wages and benefits, we are taking steps to prepare for a strike, and have already begun bringing together clinical leaders to run staffing disruption drills, integrating outside nurses into our daily operations, and are coordinating with other systems to manage capacity to ensure our campuses are prepared to maintain high-quality patient care in the event of a staffing disruption,” the spokesperson explained.

Hospital leadership said that the preparations are expensive, and that they “take away resources that could be invested in nurses or other members of our care teams.”

Mount Sinai reported that NYSNA demands would require the health system to spend $3.59 billion over three years, nearly triple its current costs of $1.281 billion.

“NYSNA has stated that ‘our healthcare system is under attack’ and ‘healthcare cuts will mean…less hospital funding,’ which will cost hospitals in New York $8 billion and 35,000 jobs, yet NYSNA is demanding hospitals increase the average nurse salary by $110,000 to $272,000 per year for 10 days of work per month,” the hospital spokesperson said.

Joe Solmonese, senior vice president of strategic communications at Montefiore, also responded to the pending strike.

“NYSNA leadership’s reckless and irresponsible demands totaling $3.6 billion, including a nearly 40% wage increase, clearly put patients at risk,” he said. “We are resolute in devoting whatever resources are necessary to safe and seamless care for our community.”

Meanwhile, Brendan Griffith, president of the NYC Central Labor Council for the AFL-CIO, said last month that the city’s labor movement stands with the nurses’ after they voted to authorize a strike on Dec. 22.

“When hospitals drag out negotiations, fail to address workplace safety, or refuse to invest in staffing, it’s working people and their families who pay the price,” he said.