By Greg McQueen
Registered nurses at three hospital systems have threatened to strike over what they call unsafe staffing levels.
At a press conference on Thurs. Mar. 7th, the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) announced that nurses had voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike at Mount Sinai, New York-Presbyterian and Montefiore sites if conditions are not improved.
The final combined tally was 8533 “yes” to 230 “no,” according to NYSNA.
A strike would affect about 10,000 nurses and could be called in the coming weeks, NYSNA officials said.
Nurses insisted that they are forced to care for too many patients at a time, creating an unsafe environment. “Nurses are expected to treat patients they haven’t been properly trained for,” said NYSNA Vice President Anthony Ciampa. “They’re expected to skip breaks or lunches.”
