However, the nurses union walked out of negotiations with Mt. Sinai, according to the NYC health system.

“The union refused to accept the exact same offer of a 19.1[%]wage increase over three years that it agreed to at eight other hospitals, including Mount Sinai Morningside and Mount Sinai West, and disregarded Governor [Kathy] Hochul’s proposal for binding arbitration to avoid a strike,” Mt. Sinai said in a statement. 

The strike comes as the healthcare industry has faced mounting staffing pressures. Amid strained resources from the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals and health systems have dealt with a difficult operating environment, with many reporting negative margins throughout 2022. Healthcare workers are severely burned out from the pandemic, and previous surveys have revealed that as many as 25% of clinicians are planning to switch careers. 

New York City is not the only region dealing with major workforce issues. Kaiser Permanente recently warded off its own strike among nurses by, in part, boosting pay 22.5%. The strike would have been the largest private sector nursing strike in history, with more than 22,000 nurses who planned to strike if contract negotiations were not agreed to.

NYSNA urged patients needing care to not delay seeking healthcare services while the strike continues. 

“Patients should seek hospital care immediately if they need it. We would rather be the ones providing that care, but our bosses have pushed us to be out here instead,” the union said Monday. “We appreciate solidarity from our patients—but going into the hospital to get the care you need is NOT crossing our strike line.”