Nurses strike for 2nd day at two big NYC hospitals

NEW YORK (AP) — A nursing strike that has disrupted patient care at two of New York City's largest hospitals entered its second day Tuesday, with a union official saying progress was being made toward a possible settlement at one of the institutions.

The two hospitals, Montefiore Medical Center and Mount Sinai Hospital, were postponing nonemergency surgeries, diverting ambulances to other medical centers, pulling in temporary staffers and assigning administrators with nursing backgrounds to work in wards in order to cope with the walkout of as many as 7,100 nurses.

Progress was being made toward a settlement at Montefiore, Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, a union official and a nurse at the Bronx hospital system, said Tuesday.

On the picket line outside, nurses said they had to strike because chronic understaffing leaves them caring for too many patients.

“We’re tired now — overwhelmed. Nurses are burned out,” said Saffie Sesay, an emergency room nurse at the hospital. “It’s just getting worse.”

Meanwhile, as of midday, negotiations hadn't yet resumed at Mount Sinai Hospital, on Manhattan's east side. Hospital spokesperson Lucia Lee expressed hope that talks could soon resume with the union, the New York State Nurses Association.

“The impact is being felt,” she said of the walkout.

Montefiore and Mount Sinai are the last of a group of hospitals with nursing contracts that expired simultaneously. The union initially warned that it would strike at all of them at the same time, but the other hospitals reached agreements as a Monday strike deadline approached. All include raises of 7%, 6%, and 5%, respectively, over the next three years.

Nurses on the picket lines stressed that staffing levels are a bigger issue than pay. New York City's nurses were hailed as heroes in the spring...