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Negotiations between a large New York nursing union and two major New York City hospitals fell through on Monday as more than 7,000 nurses went on strike.
“After bargaining late into the night at Montefiore and Mount Sinai Hospital yesterday, no tentative agreements were reached,” the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) said in a statement. “Today, more than 7,000 nurses at two hospitals are on strike for fair contracts that improve patient care.”
A flyer that was circulating online said that there would be picket lines from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. ET at several hospitals, including Montefiore Moses, Montefiore Weiler, Montefiore Hutch, and Mount Sinai Hospital. Footage uploaded on social media shows nurses and others picketing at 6 a.m. at New York City hospitals.
A spokeswoman for Mount Sinai told news outlets that negotiations failed around 1 a.m. ET after the union rejected a 19.1 percent increase in wages that the hospital system had proposed.
“NYSNA leadership walked out of negotiations shortly after 1 a.m. ET, refusing to accept the exact same 19.1% increased wage offer agreed to by eight other hospitals, including two other Mount Sinai Health System campuses, and disregarding the governor’s solution to avoid a strike,” Lucia Lee, a spokeswoman for Mount Sinai, told CNN.
