NEW YORK (WABC) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Sen. Bernie Sanders joined striking nurses in the bitter cold on Tuesday morning.
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.
There is still no deal on the table as thousands of nurses brave the cold to fight for a new contract — with negotiations are at a complete standstill.
Sanders joined Mamdani, who brought boxes of doughnuts to striking nurses outside Mount Sinai West.
The two democratic socialists took a stand for organized labor in the nation’s largest city as hundreds of strikers erupted in cheers on 10th Avenue.
“The people of this country are sick and tired of the greed in the health care industry,” Sanders said. “They’re tired of the drug companies ripping us off, the insurance companies ripping us off, paying hospital executives, getting huge salaries.”
Talks at the bargaining table last week didn’t end with a positive resolution, and a finish line doesn’t appear to be in view.
“Too often when we see a strike, people forget that that is not where workers want to be,” Mamdani said. “A strike is an act of last resort. What workers want is to be back at work. So what this will mean is making that possible. And so we call on every side to come back to that negotiating table. Have a swift and urgent resolution.”
Since the walkout last week, negotiators have met just once and talks remain at an impasse on every major issue. From wages and on the job security to working conditions and staffing levels.
Tension is growing on the picket line-a similar strike three years ago lasted just three days. The hospitals are hiring freelance nurses, known as “travel nurses” and management claims essential operations have continued.
But striking nurses and their supporters remain defiant.
“No nurses should fear for their safety while caring for others,” one nurse said. “We are not asking for the impossible. We are asking for safe staffing, expert security and a fair contract.”
Hospital systems have called nurses’ demands both dangerous and reckless, saying there were nurses over the weekend picketing outside the homes of hospital executives.
Mount Sinai released a statement Monday night saying:
“To ensure ongoing high-quality care, we have made additional commitments to working with our agency nurses. As we settle into this long-term cadence, it will become more difficult to add Mount Sinai nurses not already working into the schedule without advance notice.”
As for the nurses, they say they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
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