Negotiations remain at standstill in New York City nurses' strike
NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York City's largest-ever nurses' strike entered day three on Wednesday.
At the moment, negotiations appear to remain at a standstill as nearly 15,000 nurses in total are on strike at three private hospital systems: Mount Sinai, Montefiore and NewYork-Presbyterian.
Nurses on the picket line had a new target on Wednesday night: the traveling nurses hired to temporarily replace them.
The steady stream of buses full of traveling nurses that rolled into NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center were met with demonstrators.
"We hear from people in there saying that people are running around like chickens without heads, that people are really drowning," said a nurse named Stephanie.
Family and friends of patients at the cardiac division say that inside the hospital, it's pumping like a regular heartbeat.
"Everything is normal inside," said Juan Espinal, the friend of a patient. "It's like nothing is happening outside. Everything is normal."
Espinal's friend was admitted 10 days ago for heart surgery.
"Everything is smooth. They're taking care of their patients like, they're doing their jobs up there. They're doing their jobs."
One of the key sticking points in the dispute is nurses want more protection from violent patients and visitors.
"A patient punched me to the floor, I was out for six months from work, my family had to be my caregiver to take care of me when I couldn't move to do anything," Montefiore nurse Fiona Finnegan said. "If Montefiore had protection for us nurses, it's possible, I would have been treated differently."
Nurses are getting support from elected officials, including Councilman Eric Dinowitz in the Bronx.
"The price of empathy should not be your safety, and the price of empathy should not be your dignity, and the amount you care should certainly not be taken advantage of in order to shove as many patients in a hallway or in a staircase as possible," Dinowitz said.
Nurses say they'd rather be tending to patients but they need better staffing ratios and better pay.
Hospital CEOs make millions of dollars in salaries and bonuses and nurses say they just want to see fair wages.
"We want to get back to work, but to do that, Montefiore needs to negotiate a fair contract with safety and protection and dignity for our patients and dignity for our workers," said Montefiore nurse Michelle Gonzalez.
Montefiore had criticized the union for "reckless demands" and "troubling proposals," including one that prevents nurses from being fired, even if they're found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job.
"NYSNA leadership's demand that a nurse not be terminated if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job is another example of putting their own self-interest before patient safety," officials said.
But the New York State Nurses Association said Montefiore was "blatantly mischaracterizing" one of its basic workplace proposals, which would have added protections for nurses dealing with substance use disorders and which has already been adopted in other hospitals around the state.
All of the hospitals impacted by the strike have stressed that they will remain open.
The hospitals are filling gaps with travel nurses and putting off non-emergency surgeries for now.
Montefiore Einstein released a memo President and CEO Philip Ozuah wrote sent to the staff saying, "Our Montefiore Einstein colleagues have rallied as a team to ensure the continued provision of the highest quality of care for all who seek us out at their most vulnerable. We have not canceled even one patient's access to care."
Mount Sinai said "the number of nurses who have put patients first and decided not to strike has grown from 20% percent to 23%."
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