Striking for Safety

No one should have to go on strike for safe working conditions during a pandemic, but that’s exactly what nurses at Albany Medical Center and Montefiore New Rochelle had to do in December. For two years, nurses at both hospitals have faced stalled contract negotiations and hospital administrators who refused to listen to nurses’ concerns about serious understaffing and unsafe CoVID conditions.

At Albany Medical Center, nearly 2,000 nurses launched a one-day strike. Ahead of the nurses’ strike, oSHA announced an investigation of Albany Medical Center regarding their neglect of safe ppe protocols and widespread CoVID infections amongst patients and staff.

on The PickeT lines

At Montefiore New Rochelle, nurses launched their two-day strike demanding a fair contract and safe working conditions. NYSNA members chanted “Nurses over Billboards!” condemning the hospital, which had bought billboards, newspaper and television ads applauding their nurses as heroes while refusing to bargain in good faith and provide safe staffing resources.

Both strikes grabbed national headlines, from U.S. News and World Report to the Financial Times, and blanketed local tV news. But in a shameful move, both hospitals locked out their nurses at the end of their strikes, rather than returning to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair contract for these CoVID heroes.