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Nurses at NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn threaten to strike on March 1
By
Caroline Lewis
Published Feb 19, 2025
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By
Caroline Lewis
Published Feb 19, 2025
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About 1,000 nurses at NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn say they will strike on March 1st if the health system does not commit to improve staffing and pay “competitive” salaries.
The nurses, who are unionized with the Federation of Nurses/UFT, on Tuesday evening filed the required 10-day notice for the strike, but they can still call it off if negotiations over a new contract progress.
UFT spokesperson Alison Gendar said the Brooklyn hospital routinely violates the minimum nurse-to-patient ratios established in the current contract and through a nurse staffing law the state passed in 2021. Nurses have filed thousands of complaints about the alleged violations with NYU Langone and the state Department of Health over the past three years, Gendar said.
NYU Langone's Brooklyn hospital is among the facilities arbitrators have ordered to pay penalties to nurses in recent years for violating agreed-upon staffing ratios. Mount Sinai Morningside and Montefiore Medical Center have received similar orders.
"The hospital has put patients and nurses at risk with its chronic understaffing," said Anne Goldman, head of the Federation of Nurses/UFT.
In response to the strike threat, Steve Ritea, a spokesperson for the NYU Langone Health, said the health system “remains committed to bargaining in good faith and is optimistic that we will reach an agreement that supports our nurses and NYU Langone Hospital Brooklyn’s mission to provide exceptional outcomes to all of our patients.”
In the strike announcement, UFT President Michael Mulgrew also accused NYU Langone of focusing more on its “glossy public image” than its nurses, citing a recent 30-second Super Bowl ad that cost an estimated average of $8 million this year, according to CBS.
NYU Langone Health reported a $431 million operating surplus in its 2024 fiscal year, up 20% from the previous year.
“Peel back NYU's pretty purple veneer, and the reality is not so pretty,” Mulgrew said.
Ritea did not respond to criticisms about NYU Langone’s priorities, or the union's claims of understaffing.
Strike threats from health care workers have become common in New York City in recent years. Nurses at Montefiore Medical Center and Mount Sinai Hospital walked off the job for three days in 2023. But most strike notices are rescinded before they escalate to that point.
Tagged
economy
NYU langone
brooklyn
Health and Science
Caroline Lewis
Caroline Lewis is on the health care beat for WNYC and Gothamist. She has covered COVID, a nurses' strike, the overdose crisis and New York’s marijuana legalization effort, and spent a year investigating patients' medical bills. She always wants to hear about how everyday New Yorkers experience the health system. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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