(NEW YORK CITY) - Nurses represented by the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai are calling on the Health Care System to settle a contract that provides them with pay equal to what Nurses earn at other Sinai Facilities - and to keep the infirmary open.

Last Fall, Mount Sinai officials announced plans to close the Beth Israel Facility in Lower Manhattan.  Although the hospital was slated to be shuttered in July, the New York State Department of Health rejected Sinai’s closure plan in April, stating that it was incomplete. 

Nurses at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, located a few blocks away from Beth Israel, are now urging Mount Sinai to ensure the infirmary will remain open and safely staffed.

NYSNA Members rallied Tuesday (June 4th) in front of the infirmary to demand a contract that provides them with pay parity and job security.

“Since Sinai took over, they have pushed services away, pushed Doctors away - and now, they’re pushing Nurses away, but we want to stay,” said John Paul Montemayor, who serves as NYSNA’s Bargaining Unit President at the Eye and Ear Infirmary who has worked there for seven years.

Advocates, who also slammed the plan to close Beth Israel, noted services have been cut at the Eye and Ear Hospital in recent years, including on-site radiology.

Mark Hannay, who serves as the Director of Metro New York Health Care for All - who is also coordinating the Save Beth Israel and New York Eye and Ear Campaign, said: “We’ve watched the intentional destruction of Beth Israel for over a decade now and we’ve seen that they’ve been doing the same thing here at this hospital.  Our suspicion is that they want to close down both facilities and sell the real estate.”

The Hospital System submitted a new closure plan for Beth Israel two weeks ago, according to Hannay. 

Teresa Moriarty, who has worked as a Nurse at NY Eye and Ear for 17 years, said retaining Nurses has been difficult: “Conditions have gotten worse because when Nurses leave, Sinai refuses to replace them.”

To Continue Reading This Labor News Story, Go To: Mount Sinai Eye and Ear nurses insist on pay parity - The Chief (thechiefleader.com)