The democratic socialists, speaking to a boisterous crowd of nurses in front of Mount Sinai West on the Upper West Side, called on hospital executives to return to the negotiating table to resolve the contract impasse that prompted some 15,000 nurses to walk off the job last week.
“The people of this country are sick and tired of the greed in this health care industry," said Sanders, the long-serving Vermont senator and a native of Brooklyn, as he rattled off the multimillion-dollar salaries of the CEOs of the three hospital systems affected by the strike.
The hospitals say the union is proposing pay raises that amount to a 25% salary increase over three years. They maintain the request is unreasonable, as their nurses are already among the highest paid in the city.
“NYSNA’s demands ignore the economic realities of healthcare in New York City and the country,” NewYork-Presbyterian said in a statement Tuesday, citing federal cuts to Medicaid, as well as rising overall costs.
The union claims the hospitals are seeking to reduce nurses benefits but the hospitals say they’ve proposed maintaining their current employer-funded benefits, which they say exceed what most private employees receive.
The hospitals, meanwhile, say their medical operations are running normally despite the walkout. They have brought on thousands of temporary nurses to fill shifts and say they’ve made financial commitments to extend their employment.
“Everyone who has come to work — including many who have gone above and beyond to support the operational response — is helping to save lives," Brendan Carr, CEO of Mount Sinai, said in a statement to staff Monday.
