MLK Day: Striking nurses get boost of support from Reverend Al Sharpton stands in Upper Manhattan

Civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton spent part of MLK Day Monday standing with the striking nurses in Upper Manhattan.

Sharpton joined hundreds of caregivers along the picket line outside of Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital on the afternoon of Jan. 19 as the strike reached its eighth day. Despite the frigid cold, the nurses stood steadfast and even danced as they remained unwavering in their demands for better pay and patient care.

Joining the rowdy crowd, Sharpton invoked the name of Dr. Martin Luther King as he offered his support to the healthcare providers in what has become the largest nurses’ strike in New York history.

“Martin Luther King Day died in Memphis fighting for wages for garbage workers, and I believe he would want those of us that come in his tradition to be standing with nurses and standing with those that should be getting wages for saving the lives and caring for people that the private hospitals and other hospitals seem not to care about,” Sharpton railed.

Sharpton added that their defense of patients is more than just a labor issue.

“This is not only a labor issue, this is a civil rights issue. This is a human rights issue,” Sharpton said. “It’s an issue that Black and white, Latino, Asian, all stand together because those that want to make profits out of people’s illness, rather than pay for those that care for them, that stand for them, that are there when their families are not there in some cases. So, we had to come on King’s Day.”

Civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton spent MLK Day Monday standing with the striking nurses in Upper Manhattan.Photo by Dean Moses

Despite the cold, the nurses remained steadfast.Photo by Dean Moses

Following Sharpton’s speech, Nancy Hagans, the President of the New York Nurses Association, reaffirmed the commitment of some 15,000 nurses to their demands, including high wages and safety staffing practices for patients. Hagans also called out several hospitals for the failed negotiations.

“I am asking the three richest hospitals in New York City, Montefiore Medical Center, Mount Sinai, NewYork Presbyterian, what the hell is wrong with you?” Hagans roared.

“I am asking the three richest hospitals in New York City, Montefiore Medical Center, Mount Sinai, New York Presbyterian, what the hell is wrong with you?” Hagans roared. Photo by Dean Moses