10,000 Nurses Return to Work in New York City After Longest Strike in History
Nurses have returned to work at Mount Sinai and Montefiore hospitals in New York City after reaching new three-year contracts, ending one of the longest strikes in the city’s history.
Around 10,000 nurses at these hospitals suspended their work to protest for better wages, safer working conditions, and improved healthcare benefits. The agreements include a total of 12% pay increase over three years, reduced healthcare costs, increased staffing, and measures to prevent workplace violence.
However, the strike continues at Presbyterian Hospital, where about 4,200 nurses are still protesting. According to a statement from the hospital, the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) sent a compromise proposal to the striking nurses last night, but the nurses rejected it in a vote, despite prior approval from both the hospital and NYSNA.
The protesting nurses claim that there was pressure to vote in favor of the rejected proposal. Nurses returning to work at Mount Sinai and Montefiore have expressed solidarity with their colleagues continuing the strike at Presbyterian Hospital.
The strike began on January 12, when nurses from all three hospitals stopped working to demand higher wages, increased staffing, safer workplaces, and better health insurance benefits. It now stands as the longest nurses’ strike in the history of New York City.
