New York City Nurse Strike and National Implications

By: Laila Kirkpatrick

Over 7,000 Nurses from two of New York’s biggest hospitals went on strike on January eighth. They were demanding more pay and better treatment from their employers, asserting that the hospital's owners were more concerned with protecting their fortune than looking out for the well being of their staff throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Studies have found that Nurses are more likely to be more enthusiastic about their work when they are treated with respect and listened to by those in management positions. Hospitals or clinics that treat their staff like this have reported dramatically fewer shortages. 

The Unsafe staffing conditions were also a large concern of those on strike. The president of the American Nurses Association emphasized that going on strike is a last resort for nurses since their strike impacts thousands who rely on them for care. With staffing shortages in hospitals being seen on a national level the implications of the New York Nurses strike have resounded around the country. 

The issue of the nurse shortage is not confined to New York. In a study conducted in January 2022 around 52% percent of nurses were contemplating leaving their job, which was a major increase from 40% of nurses in 2021. The mainstream coverage that this strike has garnered has exposed the major hospitals for how poorly they have been treating their staff to the general public which has put those in leadership positions at these hospitals at the center of the controversy and has made them the target for many people’s outrage and disgust. 

On January 11th the leaders of the union stated that they had reached an agreement with Mount Sinai and Montefiore. The union leaders stated that the deal reached would provide safe staffing ratios” and would require Montefiore to pay financial penalties if they did not comply with the agreed upon staffing levels. 

While this deal marks the end of the strike, people are hopeful that this agreement will affect the policies of other hospitals in order to foster better working environments for nurses everywhere. 

Sources: 

https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/12/business/nyc-nurses-strike-ends/index.html https://www.npr.org/2023/01/11/1148333140/new-york-city-nurse-strike-staffing-shortages

https://time.com/6246514/nurse-strike-new-york-city-covid-19/