NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Raises Eyebrows By Joining 15K Striking Nurses On Picket Line
[Video below.] NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly aligned himself with striking nurses on Monday, stepping directly into a contentious labor fight by walking the picket line with thousands of private-hospital nurses across New York City, the NY Post reports.
By doing so, the mayor set himself against the leadership of Mount Sinai, NewYork-Presbyterian, and Montefiore Medical Center, criticizing hospital executives as among “the wealthiest in the entire city” and arguing that “these executives are not having difficulty making ends meet.”
“The hospital executives who run these hospitals, the ones where these hardworking nurses are asking for what they deserve, these executives are not having difficulty making ends meet,” Mamdani said while standing with striking workers outside NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia in Washington Heights.
“But for too many of the 15,000 NYSNA nurses who are on strike, they are not able to make their ends meet,” he added. “They are not asking for a multimillion-dollar salary.”
Outside the Manhattan hospital, thousands of nurses dressed in red gathered in a noisy demonstration, blowing noisemakers and chanting as they waved signs reading “At least the blood on our hands washes off” and “Nurses are the beating heart of the medical system.”
The labor dispute between hospital administrators and the New York State Nurses Association has grown increasingly hostile, with both sides accusing the other of greed over pay, benefits, and staffing levels. The tensions boiled over Monday as roughly 15,000 nurses formally walked off the job.
“They bragged that they spent $100 million to hire out-of-town nurses to replace us while we strike,” said NYSNA president Nancy Hagans.
“They could have easily have put that money toward our health insurance,” she said. “Nurses are asking for safe staffing. We’re asking for work protection against workplace violence. We’re asking for the greedy CEOs not to take away our medical coverage.”
Mamdani’s decision to publicly back nurses employed by private hospitals drew criticism from opponents, who questioned why a mayor responsible for the city’s public hospital system would intervene in such a charged dispute. His move contrasted with Mayor Eric Adams’ decision to stay neutral during a nurses’ strike in 2023.
“Who does he think is going to help these patients during a strike? … Communist angels?” former Mayor Rudy Giuliani said. “People are gonna die because of it.
“A mayor shouldn’t go on a picket line for people on strike who are needed to deliver critical services,” Giuliani told The Post. “He should be pushing for arbitration to get a settlement.”
One hospital official, speaking anonymously, warned that the mayor’s support could eventually rebound against him.
“Ultimately, the Mayor will learn that his public hospitals are next in line to face NYSNA’s costly and unsustainable demands—leaving taxpayers to pick up an even bigger tab,” the source said.
The standoff between the three major hospital systems and the union began with sharp accusations, including claims from one hospital network that the union is trying to shield impaired workers from discipline.
Montefiore Medical Center alleged that NYSNA was striking in part to block stronger penalties for staff who report to work under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
“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,” Montefiore said in a statement to The Post on Monday.
The union forcefully rejected the charge, accusing the hospital of smearing its workforce.
“Montefiore’s desperate attempt to slander New York City’s nurse heroes shows just how low they are willing to go to avoid settling fair contracts that protect Bronx patients and nurses,” NYSNA said.
“Montefiore nurses are fighting for safe staffing and protections from workplace violence,” the statement continued. “Meanwhile, hospital executives show their disrespect for nurses by refusing to agree to our proposals to protect patient and nurse safety, and blatantly mischaracterizing one of our basic workplace proposals, which hospitals around the city and state have already adopted. If Montefiore wants to demonize and stigmatize substance use disorders, then they shouldn’t be allowed to call themselves a healthcare facility.”
WATCH:
{Matzav.com}
