17,000 NYC Nurses Poised to Strike as Tridemic Rages

Nurses at New York City’s private hospitals are quietly preparing to potentially go on strike soon, a move that could turn the current tridemic into a full-blown crisis.

The New York State Nurses Association tells News 4 that ballot boxes have been deployed at hospitals across the city for members to vote on a strike authorization ahead of their contracts expiring Dec. 31.

The association has 17,000 members at 12 hospitals subject to that looming expiry; ballot boxes have been deployed already to facilities covering 14,000 of them. The rest will get the chance to vote this coming week.

Nancy Hagans, the president of the association, said that at the hospitals where votes have already been counted, support for a strike is running well ahead of the two-thirds threshold needed.

(While the association is jointly negotiating a common platform for all its members, the nurses at each of the hospitals have separate contracts, so it is possible one facility could vote for a strike while another does not.)

Voting could end at some hospitals this week, after which the union would have to give a hospital a 10-day strike notice before taking any action. That suggests strikes could begin relatively quickly in the new year.

The union says members are upset about staffing ratios at the local hospitals, contract proposals that they feel dramatically worsen their healthcare benefits, and Mayor Eric Adams’ recent move to forcibly hospitalize psychiatric patients.

Multiple hospital sources tell News 4 the negotiations have not gone well so far, and they have genuine concerns that a strike is a real possibility, not just a negotiating threat.

The Greater New York Hospital Association was not immediately available to comment on the strike vote. But one hospital that could potentially face a strike said it was making preparations.

“We respect and value all of our nurses, who play a central role in delivering the exceptional care that NewYork-Presbyterian is known for. We remain hopeful that union leadership shares our dedication to reaching a fair and reasonable contract agreement, and we continue to bargain in good faith,” the hospital said in a statement.

“All necessary preparations are being made to ensure that, in the event of any work stoppage by the union in January, our patients at NYP Columbia University Irving Medical Center, NYP Allen Hospital, and NYP Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital continue to receive the same high-quality care, without interruption, in keeping with our fundamental obligation to the communities we serve.”  

All of this comes as the city deals with what is being called a tridemic – simultaneous and serious spikes in infections with COVID, the flu and the respiratory condition RSV.

The city has already issued an advisory (but not a mandate) suggesting that people go back to wearing masks indoors.