Could New York City’s hospitals cope without 15,000 of their nurses?That’s exactly what happened on Monday.
Staff at three major private hospital groups — New York-Presbyterian, Montefiore Bronx, and Mount Sinai — went on strike over pay and working conditions.
Officials even declared a state of emergency as the city faced its largest nurses’ walkout in history.
The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) said the strike came after months of stalled contract talks.
“Unfortunately, greedy hospital executives have decided to put profits above safe patient care and force nurses out on strike.
We would rather be at the bedsides of our patients,” said NYSNA president Nancy Hagans.
She added that management “refuses to address our most important issues — patient and nurse safety.”
Nurses Strike Escalates
Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined the picket lines, praising nurses’ dedication.
“During 9/11, it was nurses tending to the wounded.
During the pandemic, they came in even at the expense of their own health,” he said, sporting a red NYSNA scarf.
Hospitals scrambled to cope: some patients were discharged or transferred, surgeries canceled, and temporary staff drafted in.
Mount Sinai pushed back, saying, “NYSNA decided to move forward with its strike while refusing to move on from extreme economic demands… .”
“But we are ready with 1,400 qualified nurses to provide safe patient care.”
As tensions rise, one question looms. When care is at stake, whose side does the city take — the nurses who save lives or the executives who run the books?
