Jan. 7 (UPI) — New York City residents on Saturday are preparing for a possible strike that could affect four major private sectors hospitals beginning next week.
The New York State Nurses Association has given the go-ahead for strikes at the hospitals starting Monday. Approximately 10,000 nurses are expected to participate if a deal on better wages isn’t reached by Sunday.
An agreement with nurses was reached at Flushing Hospital on Friday, meaning only four hospitals — Montefiore, Mount Sinai, Mount Sinai Morningside and Mount Sinai West — now have the potential to see strikes on Monday.
The two Mount Sinai hospitals have started transferring 13 newborn babies in intensive care and are taking other actions in anticipation of the potential strike, WCBS-TV reported.
Mount Sinai management walked out of negotiations with union representatives on Thursday and canceled a meeting that was scheduled for Friday, NYSNA President Nancy Hagans told reporters.
Union leaders say they will continue negotiations until the deadline on Sunday.
The city’s Office of Emergency Management is setting up an interagency situation room to coordinate health services with police, firefighters, and healthcare workers to mitigate the potential fallout, officials told Politico.
“We recognize the effect that a nurse strike would have on health care in our city and we are actively planning for different scenarios to minimize any impact to New Yorkers and ensure that the people of our city continue to receive care,” a city spokesperson told the publication.
