A week after numerous nurses at two privately run hospitals in New York City called off their strike, numerous nurses from 11 city hospitals took to the streets to try and renegotiate their own contracts.
The protest ended at the New York City Health and Hospitals headquarters in Lower Manhattan.
Protesters claimed, after all the hardships the nurses endured for the city during the pandemic, they deserved improved working conditions, safe staffing, and higher compensation.
“The gap between our pay and the private sector nurse pay is only getting bigger and more unfair. We congratulate our New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) siblings in the private sector for winning great contracts,” Sonia Lawrence of the NYSNA Board of Directors said
According to the protesters, many nurses are likely to transfer to a better paying private hospital job. Which in return, causes a nurse shortage in the public hospital.
Registered nurse Jurnalith Yu said they are fighting for 20 percent increase over three years. However, filipina nurse Cynthia Cantos has worked for nearly four decades, taking care of about 20 patients during her shift. She said that this ratio is not safe for healthcare workers and is not safe for patients either.
“It’s been happening for years and they’re still not resolving it,” Cantos stressed. “They have to have a law where there’s safe staffing for patients and a ratio for nurses.”
