NEW YORK (WABC) — Thursday marks day 18 of the New York City nurses’ strike and while there is still no end in sight, the nurses are holding a day of action to protest ICE.
Nurses have returned to the picket lines outside Montefiore, NewYork-Presbyterian and Mount Sinai hospitals after the winter storm.
The New York State Nurses Association union is calling for increased staffing and protections against workplace violence.
On Thursday the nurses were joined by several local congress members at Mount Sinai to also demand that ICE be kept out of the hospitals to protect care for immigrant patients.
“We are horrified by ICE interfering with patient care in California and canvassing parking lots at federally qualified health clinics in Chicago, we know that the fear of encountering ICE already caused our Mount Sinai patients to delay or stop seeking care,” said Mount Sinai nurse Lillian Espinoza.
The day of action comes after two days of talks on Tuesday and Wednesday. Now hospitals will work with mediators on Thursday to “work a package proposal” to give to the nurses’ union on Friday.
The nurses believe the package will be counters to proposals the union made in September.
No agreements were reached on the major proposals of staffing rations, expanding the ER and eliminating hallway beds (specifically at Montefiore Hospital), wages or workplace violence protections.
A spokesperson with Mount Sinai released the following statement:
“Nurses have said they do not want to be in the middle of a dispute or confrontation with law enforcement, which we agree should not be their responsibility and is exactly what our proposal provides. We have an extensive systemwide policy that addresses how employees should respond during any interactions with law enforcement, including ICE. NYSNA leadership has indicated that they support this policy. NYSNA leadership knows that there is a commitment to train our nurses on policies and the right ways to disengage in any interaction with law enforcement. Raising this as an issue is an attempt by the union to manufacture another distraction to avoid talking about their unreasonable economic demands.”
Later Thursday evening, nurses will gather at the VA New York Harbor Healthcare Center for a vigil for Alex Pretti, the VA nurse killed in Minneapolis by border control agents.
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