7K Nurses Strike in New York City
On Monday, more than 7K nurses at two New York City hospitals went on strike after talks broke down between the union and hospital leaders overnight. Unions are advocating for higher pay and better working conditions. The action comes amid a nationwide trend toward healthcare labor strikes.
Facts
- On Monday, more than 7K nurses at two New York City hospitals went on strike after talks broke down between the union and hospital leaders overnight. Unions are advocating for higher pay and better working conditions. The action comes amid a nationwide trend toward healthcare labor strikes.
- Nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan and three Montefiore Medical Center locations in Brooklyn began the strike citing long hours and unsafe conditions without fair pay. The hospitals offered a 19% raise, but it was not enough.
- The hospitals had reached tentative agreements with the nurses' union late Sunday evening, but the deals fell through. Hundreds of nurses picketed outside the hospital singing Twisted Sister’s hit song, “We’re Not Gonna Take It.”
- The NY State Nurses Association, the largest nursing union in the state, released a statement saying, “nurses don’t want to strike,” and pinning blame on hospital leaders who fail to address poor work conditions.
- The strikes are resulting in patients being transferred and ambulances being rerouted to neighboring hospitals. Hospitals were already severely understaffed with patient-to-nurse ratios inhibiting the quality of care.
- Despite disruptions the strikes may cause, the nurses have the backing of union leaders and politicians throughout the state. Gov. Kathy Hochul called for binding arbitration to avert the strike and said the hospitals “should listen to the frontline COVID nurse heroes.”
Sources: Axios, CNN, ABC, CNBC, and NBC New York.
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by New York Daily. Although it is not what anyone wants, nurses in New York City have no choice but to go on strike. Working in healthcare has always been an arduous career, but the pandemic has sent the industry into overdrive — burning out thousands of nurses. Hospitals are understaffed and nurses are overworked while being on the front lines.
- Narrative B, as provided by Townhall. Unions continue to lead industries down paths of destruction, and now people’s health is being put in danger due to union demands causing thousands of nurses to go on strike. New York has some of the highest union membership rates in the country which makes the dispute unsurprising, yet still disruptive for New Yorkers.
