Nurses go on strike at 2 big New York City hospitals

Nurses at two of New York City’s largest hospitals went on strike Monday in a dispute over pay and staffing levels after a weekend of negotiations did not produce a deal for a new contract.

The walkout involves as many as 3,500 nurses at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and about 3,600 at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. Patients are likely to see disruptions in care such as emergency room visits and childbirth.

The New York State Nurses Association, which represents the workers, said it was being forced into the drastic step because of chronic understaffing that leaves them caring for too many patients.

Hundreds of striking nurses chanted, waved signs and sang the chorus from Twisted Sister’s 1984 hit “We’re Not Gonna Take It” on Monday morning outside Mount Sinai on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

“We were heroes only two years ago,” said Warren Urquhart, a nurse in transplant and oncology units, referring to the height of the COVID-19 crisis. “We was on the front lines of the city when everything came to a stop. And now we need to come to a stop so they can understand how much we mean to this hospital and to the patients.”