NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses at three New York City hospitals went on strike Monday after negotiations failed to make progress in their contract disputes over the weekend.
Nurses would begin leaving their jobs at Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its partner campuses at 6 a.m. The other hospitals affected are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.
About 15,000 nurses are participating in the strike, according to the New York State Nurses Association.
The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could force hospitals to transfer patients, cancel interventions or reroute ambulances. It could also put pressure on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute as patients avoid medical centers affected by the strike.
The hospitals involved have hired temporary nurses to try to fill labor shortages during the strike, saying in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would continue.
The work stoppage is taking place simultaneously at multiple hospitals, but each medical center is negotiating independently with the union. Several other hospitals in the city and suburbs have reached agreements in recent days to avoid a possible strike.
The demands placed on nurses vary from hospital to hospital, but key issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have placed unbearable workloads on nurses.
Nurses also want better safety measures in the workplace, citing incidents such as last week, when a man barricaded himself in a hospital room in Brooklyn with a sharp object and was later shot dead by police.
The union also wants restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence by hospitals.
The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they have worked to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands are generally too expensive.
Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.
Both New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of a strike. As the deadline for the strike approached, Mamdani urged both sides to continue negotiating and reach an agreement that “honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”
“Our nurses kept this city alive in the most difficult of times. Their value is non-negotiable,” Mamdani said.
The last major nursing strike in the city was just three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short-lived, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal that increased wages at those hospitals by 19% in three years.
It also led to promised improvements in staffing levels, although the union and hospitals are now at odds over how much progress has been made and whether hospitals are backsliding on staffing guarantees.
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor using a generative artificial intelligence tool.
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