Montefiore nurses which make up some of the estimated 15,000 striking nurses in The Bronx and Manhattan, continued their strike action on Day 6 outside Montefiore Medical Center, a private non-for-profit hospital, in Norwood, The Bronx and at other Montefiore locations on Saturday, Jan. 17. The strike began on Monday, Jan. 12, as reported, following failed prior negotiations between the parties. [Read our previous coverage by clicking on the previous links, and read our Day 2 story here, Day 3 and 4 here, and Day 5 here.

 

Nurses at Mount Sinai and New York Presbyterian private hospital systems, who are also members of New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) union, are also striking, as reported, in the largest nurses’ strike in New York City history.

 

According to NYSNA, on Thursday and Friday Jan. 15 and 16, nurses met with New York-Presbyterian, Mount Sinai, and Mount Sinai Morningside and West. “After days of weathering the cold on strike, nurses came to the bargaining tables ready to get some real work done,” a spokesperson for the NYSNA said.

 

NYSNA officials allege the hospitals had characterized the nurses’ demands as unreasonable. In response, they said if people thought maintaining healthcare benefits for the union’s healthcare workers, providing enough staff so that patients can be safely cared for, and providing protections against workplace violence was unreasonable, then they were not sure they were being unreasonable. They said they were demanding what they believe is essential to providing care to New Yorkers.

NYSNA went on to say that what they believe is unreasonable is paying a CEO $26.3 million, referencing Steve Corwin, CEO of New York Presbyterian, who, according to the hospital, is due to step down from his role this month. They also referenced CEO of Montefiore, Dr. Philip Ozuah, alleging his pay increased to $16.7 million in 2024. The union added that it has made significant revisions to its proposals at the bargaining table and allege they were “presented with nothing.”

The union further alleged the hospitals were “furious” about the safe staffing standards nurses won three years ago and “were willing to do anything to claw them back.”

 

NYSNA’s main demands are outlined in our previous stories. The main one appears to be the patient / nurse ratio. Montefiore and other hospitals had responded to this and the nurses’ other concerns shared in our previous stories here and here. Norwood News has since reached out to Montefiore again for an update on the latest comments by NYSNA on the apparent deadlock and will share any feedback we receive. A spokesperson acknowledged our request and we will share any further updates we receive.

 

Meanwhile, some of the nurses at Mount Sinai in Manhattan completed a 12-hour relay run on the picket-line around one of the hospitals on Saturday, logging over 30 runners, 333 laps, and 147 miles, most of it in a windy 35 degrees, according to Jarrett Murphy, a pediatric ER nurse. “The big takeaway: Ain’t nobody gonna outlast the nurses,” Murphy said in part. “We usually race around for 12 hours helping patients. Today we run for a fair contract.”

 

Murphy urged the public to call or email their federal, State and City elected officials and “tell Monte, Mount Sinai and NYP to negotiate in good faith.” He added, “We are hanging tough.”

As reported, various striking nurses were joined by several elected officials on the picket lines at various hospital locations in The Bronx and Manhattan during the week.

 

In The Bronx, these included local State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (S.D. 33), chair of the NYS senate health committee, local Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81), local City Councilman Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11), State Sen. Nathalia Fernandez (S.D. 34), who used to represent parts of Norwood as a former assemblymember, but now mostly represents the East Bronx, City Council Member Pierina Sanchez (C.D. 14), who represents parts of the West Bronx, City Councilmember Shirley Aldebol (C.D. 13), who represents parts of the East Bronx and who is a former union leader, Assembly Member Brian Cunningham (A.D. 43), who represents parts of Brooklyn, and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr.