Nurses at Two New York City Hospitals Just Won Historic Strike Victories
This week, 7,000 nurses at Montefiore Medical Center and Mount Sinai Hospital walked out and won significant victories on patient-staff ratios. Jacobin spoke with striking nurses at both hospitals.
Nurses from Montefiore Medical Center picket in front of their workplace during their strike on Tuesday in the Bronx. (Selcuk Acar / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
On Monday, January 9, seven thousand nurses at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City walked out after negotiations over new contracts had stalled. The central demand of nurses at both hospitals, represented by the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), was enforcement of safe staffing levels. The nurses complained that the hospitals’ failure to ensure adequate staffing was lowering the quality of care and endangering patients.
Early this morning, NYSNA reached tentative agreements with both hospitals, ending the strike. Nurses won safe staffing ratios as well as language ensuring that the ratios will actually be enforced. Jacobin’s Sara Wexler spoke with nurses at Montefiore and Mount Sinai about the strike and the tentative agreements.
Sara Wexler
Can you tell me when and how the organizing started around the strike?
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