Union nurses rescinded strike notices given to seven New York City safety-net hospitals after making "major progress" on the terms of to-be-settled labor contracts, the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) announced in a Jan. 7 update.
Still, the union said there's an ongoing gulf between their demands and the positions of five other hospitals in New York City and three in Long Island. That leaves more than 16,700 nurses on track to walk off the job on Jan. 12.
The notices were rescinded for Flushing Hospital Medical Center, Maimonides Medical Center, One Brooklyn Health’s Interfaith Medical Center, One Brooklyn Health’s Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, The Brooklyn Hospital Center, Wyckoff Heights Medical Center and Richmond University Medical Center, according to the union.
Their hope is to settle the contracts by Friday for a subsequent NYSNA membership ratification vote. However, the union said it already has tentative agreements with the hospitals' management on issues like healthcare benefits, staffing levels, workplace violence protections, model AI language and other issues.
"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," NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said in a statement. "New York City’s wealthiest hospitals should follow their lead.”
Those remaining hospitals, in the city, include BronxCare Health System, Montefiore Medical Center, Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside and Mount Sinai West, and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia University Medical Center. The potential nurse strike at these would comprise the largest in New York City's history, according to the union.
In Long Island, negotiations are still ongoing for more than 1,000 nurses at three Northwell hospitals: Northwell/Plainview, Northwell/Syosset, and Northwell/Huntington.
Hospital representatives have largely pointed to upcoming financial headwinds such as impending Medicaid cuts as the counterargument to the union's demands. In a Jan. 7 joint statement, Montefiore, Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian said the union's plans to strike "can only be described as reckless."
21,000 nurses at 15 New York hospitals deliver 10-day strike notice
Around 21,000 nurses represented by the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) gave 10-day strike notices on Jan. 2, setting a Jan. 12 deadline for 15 hospitals to reach new contracts.
The nurses’ prior contracts expired on Dec. 31, and nearly all had voted to authorize the walkoffs on Dec. 22 and Dec. 23.
Twelve of those hospitals are in New York City and belong to various private health systems, including Mount Sinai, NewYork-Presbyterian, Maimonides Medical Center and Montefiore System. Should the 20,000 represented workers at these facilities take to the picket line, it would represent the largest nurse strike in the city’s history, the union said.
The remaining three hospitals are in Long Island and run by Northwell Health. About 1,000 nurses, also represented by NYSNA, gave notice to begin striking on Jan. 12.
The union, in its announcements, said months of negotiations with hospital management have stalled on issues of healthcare benefits, workplace violence protection and staffing levels. On the latter, the nurses noted that staffing agreements at two hospitals that were secured three years ago in a prior strike are at risk of being rolled back.
“We have been bargaining for months, but hospitals have not done nearly enough to settle fair contracts that protect patient care,” Nancy Hagans, president of NYSNA, said in a statement. “Striking is always a last resort; however, nurses will not stop until we win contracts that deliver patient and nurse safety. The future of care in this city is far too important to compromise on our values as nurses.”
The union’s announcements touted a letter of solidarity from more than two dozen community-based organizations, and referenced surging influenza cases as well as a recent active shooter incident at Mount Sinai Hospital.
More broadly, it highlighted cash and cash equivalent numbers reported by NewYork-Presbyterian, Montefiore and Mount Sinai—more than $1.6 billion collectively as of September—and alleged Northwell, the state’s largest private employer, had “unilaterally changed nurses’ access to union reps and created a coercive employee handbook which threatens discipline for union activity” amid the negotiations. The union has also launched multiple websites contrasting these systems’ recent financial and strategic activities against bargaining claims of unmanageable costs.
“We know Northwell can afford to invest in safe patient care, so there is no reason why we should be asked to care for patients under conditions that are untenable,” Grace Silva, a registered nurse at Northwell/Huntington Hospital, said in a statement from the union. “If Northwell cares about this community, they need to ensure there are enough nurses at the bedside to safely care for patients. Long Island deserves better.”
Hospitals cite impending Medicaid cuts
Kenneth Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA), described the strike as “irresponsible” and said receipt of the notice alone will require the hospitals to spend millions to tens of millions in order to secure outside contingency nurses. That spending lands as the hospitals are preparing for widespread federal funding cuts, estimated for New York to bring $8 billion in reduced hospital funding and 34,000 hospital job losses over the next several years.
“Perspective is needed from NYSNA leadership,” he said in a statement. “Nursing salaries today are significantly higher than those of other dedicated New York City professionals such as teachers, police officers and firefighters. In addition, over the past three years, the hospitals currently in contract negotiations with NYSNA have added more than 2,500 full-time registered nurses, increasing their number of full-time [registered nurses] by 16%. As a result, during the same period, the [registered nurse] vacancy rate at these hospitals has dropped significantly to a minuscule rate."
“If there’s no settlement, GNYHA will be in constant communication with our member hospitals, all state authorities, and NYC Emergency Management to try to limit a strike’s impact on patients and communities,” he said.
MountSinai, in a notice on its website, said there are currently no operational impacts or patient scheduling changes due to the strike. The system also said in a statement that the 10-day strike notice came “after only a day of working with a mediator at one of our hospitals,” and similarly cited looming federal funding cuts.
“Just three years after its last strike the union is showing once again it is willing to use patients as bargaining chips this time while pushing billions of dollars in economic demands that would compromise the financial health of our entire system and threaten the financial stability of hospitals across New York City,” the statement reads. “We will continue to work in good faith to reach an agreement before the strike, however after months of preparation, our system is ready for every outcome so we can maintain high quality patient care and continue to serve our patients and communities across New York.”
Northwell Health, in a statement provided to the press, said it was “disappointed” by the strike notice but intends to continue negotiations with the union.
“We value our dedicated nursing team and the exceptional service they provide,” the statement reads. “Our aim is to reach a fair agreement, and we will continue to engage in good faith negotiations with NYSNA. Should a strike occur, our priority will always be patient safety and care. Huntington, Plainview and Syosset Hospitals will remain fully operational, ensuring uninterrupted, superior service for our patients."
A Montefiore spokesperson, in a statement, said that the union's demands would bring $3.6 billion, or 50%, in additional costs over the life of their proposed new contract.
"Additionally, NYSNA leadership’s demands will clearly impact patient safety, like nurses not being terminated if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job, and taking issue with our reasonable effort to roll out panic buttons for frontline staff in the Emergency Department," the spokesperson said. "While Montefiore will continue to bargain in good faith, we are preparing for what we anticipate could be a multi-week strike.”