NEW YORK (WABC) — The historic strike among New York City’s nurses has entered its second week after nearly 15,000 walked off the job last Monday.
Nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian, Mount Sinai, and Montefiore are asking for higher pay, an increase in staff to manage patients, fully funded benefits and better workplace protections against violence for its members.
As tensions escalate between the private hospitals and thousands of their employees, negotiations are stalled after they got underway last Thursday and Friday.
“Until they can back away from their reckless and dangerous $3.6 billion demands, progress overall will not be possible,” a Montefiore spokesperson said. “In the meantime, we continue to provide the world-class care our communities deserve.”
On Monday, striking nurses will raised their voices again while giving back at the city-run George Washington Carver Houses to provide free community health screenings.
They offered health education and blood pressure testing for anyone brave enough to sit in the cold for a stretch.
It was their way to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. who advocated for both racial and economic justice.
Rev. Al Sharpton also planned to join the nurses at the picket line at Mount Sinai Morningside.
All of the hospitals impacted by the strike have stressed that they will remain open, but they are scaling back on non-emergency surgeries.
While nurses remain away from their patients, operations continue with the help of traveling nurses secured by hospitals.
But it’s unclear how long this may go on as they bridge the gap for the thousands who walked off the job.
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