Nurses with the New York State Nurses Association on Monday said they voted to strike at 12 New York City hospitals, including five in Brooklyn.
The nurses, whose contracts at the hospitals expire on Dec. 31, said the vote gives the union the authority to call a strike if a contract is not approved by hospital management by the end of the year.
Nurses at the Brooklyn Hospital Center, Interfaith Medical Center / One Brooklyn Health, Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center / One Brooklyn Health, Maimonides Medical Center and Wyckoff Heights Medical Center voted to authorize strikes, according to NYSNA.
Amid federal attacks on healthcare, the nurses are demanding that hospitals agree to a fair contract that ensures enforceable safe staffing, enough staff and healthcare services for communities, protections for vulnerable patients targeted by the Trump administration, health and safety and workplace violence protections, safeguards on the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare, and fair wages and benefits to recruit and retain nurses, officials said.
“We became nurses because we care about our patients deeply and do not take striking lightly," NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said in a statement. "It is always a last resort. But it’s shameful that instead of trying to protect care and settle a fair contract, hospitals are dragging their feet and making proposals that would seriously erode care in this city. They should be trying to work with frontline nurses right now, not fighting against us."
Instead of agreeing to fair contracts that protect safe patient care, hospitals have responded to nurses’ demands with avoidance and delays, NYSNA said. Employers have yet to make serious economic counterproposals, and some have proposed givebacks that would harm nurses’ ability to deliver safe patient care and would make it harder to hold hospitals accountable for maintaining safe staffing levels. Employers have refused to guarantee healthcare benefits for nurses, seriously jeopardizing healthcare for the healthcare providers of New York City, according to officials.
“We believe safe patient care is a right, not a privilege," said Ari Moma, NYSNA Director at Large and a nurse at Interfaith Medical Center. "Nurses are fighting to protect patient care in this contract and to make sure our patients have the staff and services they need. We are also fighting to make sure that we, the frontline nurses, have the healthcare we need to continue to care for you."
Hospital prices in New York have increased at a rate significantly faster than the national average, despite the city’s efforts to rein in costs, officials said. Between 2017 and 2021, healthcare costs nationwide rose by 14%; in New York, they rose by over 18%. These increases have not coincided with commensurate investments in patient care as revenue per patient is rising, the group said.
