MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) — Striking nurses in New York City are getting some big-name support Tuesday as they continue to demand a fair contract.
Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will join the picket line on Tuesday morning at Mount Sinai West in Manhattan. Tuesday marks day nine of the strike.
On Monday afternoon, members of the Working Families Party, the New York Immigration Coalition and the Rev. Al Sharpton held a news conference on the picket line outside Mount Sinai Morningside.
Al Sharpton chanted “no justice, no peace!” before telling the crowd it was important to stand with the nurses on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Sharpton said, “Martin Luther King died in Memphis fighting for workers for garbage workers and I believe he would want those of us that come in his tradition to be standing with nurses.”
Sharpton added, “This is not only a labor issue, this is a civil rights issue, this is a human rights issue!”
The NYSNA met at the negotiating table on Sunday with Montefiore, and last Thursday and Friday with NewYork-Presbyterian and Mount Sinai. No new talks are scheduled.
On Monday, a Montefiore spokesperson said of the NYSNA, “Until they can back away from their reckless and dangerous $3.6 billion demands, progress overall will not be possible. In the meantime, we continue to provide the world-class care our communities deserve.”
Brendan Carr, the CEO of Mount Sinai Health, said in a statement, “As of today, despite our best efforts to negotiate, a near-term path to an agreement is very unlikely. Over the weekend, our operational teams extended our plans to run the Health System without the support of the nurses NYSNA leadership has convinced to strike.”
Carr added, “As we settle into this long-term cadence, it will become more difficult to add Mount Sinai nurses not already working into the schedule without advance notice.”
