Nurses and NYC hospitals head back to bargaining table but strike rages on for now

Striking Big Apple nurses and the major hospital systems they’re battling are expected to return to the bargaining table, the staffers’ union revealed Wednesday as the work stoppage reached its 10th day.

The New York State Nurses Association said that contract deliberations will resume between its members and Montefiore, Mount Sinai Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian officials on Thursday as the medical staffers and hospitals have battled over pay, benefits, staffing and workplace safety.

“Nurses stand ready to bargain to reach fair contracts and end the strike. With continued support of mediators, nurses plan on bargaining daily to settle fair contracts that protect patient and nurse safety,” the NYSNA said in a statement.

“Nurses will continue to picket and strike until tentative agreements are reached with the hospitals.” 

The union noted that the renewed discussions were pushed by Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Mamdani has outwardly taken the sides of the nurses, appearing on the picket line twice since the strike started, including with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday.

“Well, I’m very heartened by the news, and each and every day that I’ve been at the picket line or spoken about the strike, I’ve always encouraged a swift and immediate resolution to the strike,” he said Wednesday.

Hochul’s office said in a statement the Democratic governor is encouraged that both sides are coming back to the table.

“Governor Hochul’s top priority remains safeguarding patients in these hospitals and ensuring they have access to necessary care,” a spokesperson said.

“The Governor continues to strongly urge both sides to continue negotiations until an agreement is reached that acknowledges the pivotal role nurses play in ensuring our healthcare systems deliver high-quality care to New Yorkers and their families,” the spokesperson added.

NewYork-Presbyterian said in a brief statement it intends to restart bargaining.

Mount Sinai and Montefiore did not have immediate comments on the union’s announcement.

The affected hospitals have used traveling nurses during the strike to fill the void.

A labor relations specialist, Seton Hall professor Karen Boroff, said in an interview that as the strike extends longer, the union’s leverage drops.

“As the agency employees, those temporary nurses, get more skilled in what’s going on, the hospital learns to manage with those ‘replacements,’” said Boroff, who is dean emerita of management at the New Jersey school.

“So it begins to shift bargaining power toward management’s side in terms of withstanding the strike.”

But Rebecca Givan, a Rutgers associate professor in labor studies and employment relations, said the hospitals have more reason to want to cut a quicker deals because of the money they are pouring into traveling nurses.

She also said prospective patients might not want to get treatment at hospitals affected by the strike.

“I think it’s bad for the hospital to let it drag out,” Givan said.

Hospitals have insisted their operations are running smoothly while nurses on the picket line have said they are ready for the long haul.

The union has claimed the hospitals have money to spend on their demands, pointing to the salaries of their executives while the medical centers have accused the union of requesting unreasonable terms.

Regardless of how the strike ends, labor historian Joshua Freeman told The Post it’ll go down as an historic labor action.

“We haven’t seen a strike like this in a number of years. It’s a landmark strike,” said Freeman, an emeritus professor at the CUNY Graduate School.

“The nurses have a lot of public support but the hospitals are very powerful and have a lot of resources. It seems like a stalemate.”