Over 70,000 union nurses and healthcare workers could walk off the job from 100 hospitals and nursing homes the end of July.
According to United Healthcare Workers East 1199 SEIU, about 90 percent of members have voted in favor of a one-day strike on July 31st, the day after their contract with Mount Sinai ends.
“As nurses and healthcare workers, we never want to strike and we take this decision very seriously,” stated George Gresham, president of 1199 SEIU. “But we have been negotiating with management for five months, they do not have a single proposal on the table, and they are severely threatening the quality of healthcare and jobs for New Yorkers.”
Gresham said there is a rising trend of using outpatient facilities, but many of the jobs are “substandard, non-union jobs which drag down wages, health benefits, and standards for workers.”
According to a manager at a Mount Sinai hospital, the union and management met last week but the two sides were not close to an agreement. Mount Sinai has asked the workers to pay a percentage of their benefits.
The union is giving management more than the legally required 10 days before the strike, Gresham stated. Mount Sinai was not immediately available for comment.
