(NEW YORK CITY) – New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA)-represented Nurses who are employed at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn have voted by 99.6% to authorize a Strike.

The Nurses’ contract expired on April 30th (2023) and the 1,250 Nurses at NYP-Brooklyn Methodist have been in negotiations for months with the hospital.

NYSNA Member leader Sharonda Green-Carter, a Registered Nurse, said: “We don’t take striking lightly, but our Members are united and prepared to Strike if NYP-Brooklyn Methodist gives us no other option.  Despite many bargaining sessions, hospital administration is still proposing staffing cuts that we find unacceptable and that would compromise the care we are able to deliver to our patients.”

Nurses have been speaking out about current conditions and the cuts to patient care the hospital has proposed during negotiations.

On May 4th, hundreds of Nurses picketed outside the hospital to protest NYP-Brooklyn Methodist’s proposals to strip patient care protections from the Nurses’ Union Contract and to reduce staffing levels in Labor and Delivery, Mother-Baby, Chemotherapy Infusion and other Units.

Since the informational picket, safe staffing has remained the sticking point in negotiations.

Management has not withdrawn its proposals on staffing cuts and unsafe floating - and has not engaged in serious discussions on staffing improvements, NYSNA says.

Management has also interfered with Nurses’ Union Rights, directed RNs to remove Union stickers regarding safe staffing and their collective bargaining demands, and required management’s approval for Union activity, NYSNA adds.

If NYSNA nurses cannot reach a tentative agreement, the Union would have to deliver a 10-day notice before going out on Strike.

To Read This Labor News Report In Its Entirety, Go To: 99.6 Percent of NYSNA Nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital Authorize Strike | New York State Nurses Association

Photo Courtesy Of NYSNA’s Facebook Page.