More than 7,000 New York City nurses went on strike on Monday after the New York State Nurses Association staged a walkout, The Associated Press reported.
Nurses from both the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan are on strike regarding burnout from what the union claimed was understaffing, unsafe conditions and not enough pay, per CNN. Nurses have been through a tough few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic which began three years ago, and according to them, enough is enough.
Hundreds of nurses picketed outside Mount Sinai Hospital on Monday. Some of them sang the chorus from Twisted Sister’s 1984 track “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” AP reported.
“We were heroes only two years ago,” said Warren Urquhart, a nurse in transplant and oncology units, per AP. “We was on the front lines of the city when everything came to a stop. And now we need to come to a stop so they can understand how much we mean to this hospital and to the patients.”
A statement from the nurses associations claimed that nurses resorted to striking because much-deserved changes have not been made.
“Nurses don’t want to strike. Bosses have pushed us to strike by refusing to seriously consider our proposals to address the desperate crisis of unsafe staffing that harms our patients” the association statement read.
Nurses at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and Mount Sinai Hospital have been working with their union to find a deal. The union representing the nurses said the offer of 19% pay increase is not enough to solve staffing issues, per CNN.
“After bargaining late into the night at Montefiore and Mount Sinai Hospital yesterday, no tentative agreements were reached. Today, more than 7,000 nurses at two hospitals are on strike for fair contracts that improve patient care,” the New York State Nurses Association said in a statement on Monday.
Both hospitals have criticized the nurses association for the walkout, which they said resulted in longer wait times and patients left unattended.
“NYSNA continues its reckless behavior. The governor’s proposal would have provided a path to avoid a strike,” Mount Sinai wrote in a statement on Monday, per CNN. “Our first priority is the safety of our patients. We’re prepared to minimize disruption, and we encourage Mount Sinai nurses to continue providing the world-class care they’re known for, in spite of NYSNA’s strike.”
The nurses involved defend their decision to strike, but still encouraged patients to seek the care they need.
“Patients should seek hospital care immediately if they need it. We would rather be the ones providing that care, but our bosses have pushed us to be out here instead,” the association wrote in a statement.