Nearly 16,000 nurses across five New York City hospitals could walk off the job Monday.

“We’re fighting to actually get a fair contract. We’re fighting for our healthcare benefits. We’re fighting for workplace violence preventions,” Goodness Iheanachor said.

What You Need To Know

  • Nearly 16,000 nurses across five New York City hospitals could walk off the job Monday
  • The potentially affected hospitals are two Mount Sinai locations, New York Presbyterian, Montefiore Medical Center and Bronxcare Health System.

  • The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) says nurses are demanding higher wages, improved benefits and better staffing ratios
  • NYSNA recently reached tentative agreements with seven of the city’s safety net hospitals 

Iheanachor and Darla Joiner are nurses at Mount Sinai Health System in East Harlem — one of the hospitals where nurses are threatening to strike.

The others are Mount Sinai West, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Montefiore Medical Center and Bronxcare Health System.

The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) says nurses are demanding higher wages, improved benefits and better staffing ratios.

“If you are within ratios with your patients, you’ll be able to provide quality care for your patients and in a very, very, very appropriate amount of time,” Iheanachor said.

This week, NYSNA reached tentative agreements with seven of the city’s safety net hospitals, which provide healthcare services to individuals regardless of their ability to pay. But the union says the wealthiest hospitals are not willing to offer nurses a fair contract.

“These wealthy private hospitals simply have little interest in settling a fair contract,” NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said.

Montefiore, Mount Sinai and New York-Presbyterian released a joint statement:

“NYSNA leadership has chosen to abandon patients in their time of need, but Montefiore Medical Center, Mount Sinai, and New York-Presbyterian will not. Their decision to walk out on our patients can only be described as reckless. A strike will pose challenges for sure, but our institutions will do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions to the delivery of the safe, high-quality care we are known for.”

”In terms of our safe working environment, these have been cries for help over the past three years,” Joiner said.

Joiner says the hospitals are trying to pull away many of the benefits they won in their last contract negotiations three years ago.

“There’s instances where nurses have been verbally abused, physically assaulted or there’s intruders coming into the hospital and these things get downplayed,” she said.

NYSNA says it will continue to bargain so that a strike can be averted.

If a strike does happen, the New York City Office of Emergency Management told NY1 it’s prepared to respond by transferring patients to other facilities and ensuring access to emergency care citywide.