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Releases: Nurses union announces April 2 strike at Mount Sinai, Montefiore and NewYork-Presbyterian hospitals over nurse staffing ratios. In respons, GNYHA says union is 'extremely irresponsible.'
NYSNYS News
Text of releases.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Carl Ginsburg| carl.ginsburg@nysna.org | 917-405-1060


**MEDIA ADVISORY FOR MONDAY, MARCH 18**

MEMBERS OF THE NEW YORK STATE NURSES ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCE APRIL 2ND STRIKE DATE AT MOUNT SINAI, MONTEFIORE AND NEW YORK PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL SYSTEMS

Official ‘10-day’ Notice of Intent to Strike Will be Delivered Tomorrow, Monday, March 18th

Hospitals Refuse to Hire Enough Bedside Caregivers Forcing Nurses to Care for up to 19 Patients at Once

Enough is Enough: Safe Staffing Is Essential Because It Really Does Save Lives

New York, NY – Members of the New York State Nurses Association will announce an April 2nd strike date at Mount Sinai, Montefiore and New York Presbyterian hospitals systems. An official ‘10-Day’ notice of intent to strike will be delivered Monday, March 18th.

The strike notice affects more than ten thousand nurses at the three hospitals systems where there are currently contract talks underway.

Right now, because hospitals refuse to hire enough bedside caregivers, nurses are forced to care for up to 19 patients at once. When that happens, our patients suffer.

We are patient advocates. We are raising a red flag. We are saying enough is enough.

In March, over 97% of nurses across the three hospital systems voted to authorize a strike because it has become a matter of life and death for our patients. We do NOT want to strike, but we are determined to make changes that will guarantee safe staffing to properly take care of our patients.
Nurses refused to be silenced on safe staffing despite the hospital systems' attempts to stop us from expressing our views and their failure to provide us basic staffing information.

WHAT:
Rally and Delivery of the 10-day notice of the intent to strike

WHO:
Members of the New York State Nurses Association

WHEN:
Monday, March 18
Noon

WHERE:
Outside Mount Sinai Hospital
99th Street and Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10001

NYSNA will be delivering the notices to other hospital systems after Mount Sinai is notified.

****

Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) President Kenneth E. Raske issued the below/attached statement today in response to the New York State Nurses Association’s (NYSNA) official notice of their intent to strike on April 2 at, according to NYSNA, “Mount Sinai, Montefiore and NewYork-Presbyterian hospital systems”:

GNYHA Statement on the
New York State Nurses Association’s
Strike Notice

March 18, 2019

As if a major budget crisis in Albany and a devastating Trump budget in Washington weren’t enough, NYSNA leadership has issued a strike notice to three key GNYHA members. These institutions are part of the bedrock of New York’s worldwide reputation for high-quality care.

This strike notice is extremely irresponsible.

It comes at a time when GNYHA and the 1199SEIU labor union are fighting with every ounce of energy, including a massive rally in Albany tomorrow, to protect New York’s health care community and secure contingency funding against horrific proposed Federal cuts. The very existence of many safety net hospitals is at stake.

Furthermore, the rigid, inflexible nurse staffing ratios that NYSNA may strike over are so discredited that voters in Massachusetts overwhelmingly rejected them just five months ago. Forced nurse staffing ratios would deny hospitals real-time staffing flexibility, crowd out other members of the health care team, and cost billions to implement. Staffing decisions are best made at the bedside by expert, experienced nurses.

We have the greatest respect for our nurses. They are the backbone of our institutions. But nothing would harm patient care more than a strike.

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