Two Bronx City Council members, Eric Dinowitz of District 11 and Shirley Adlebol of District 13, joined nurses on the picket line outside Montefiore on Wednesday, marking Day 17 of the largest nursing strike in city history.
Since the strike began, NYSNA nurses at Montefiore have demanded increased protections against workplace violence and lower staffing ratios, especially in the emergency department. Some have also called out hospital leadership for what they called corporate greed and disinvestment in Bronx patients compared to those in Westchester County.
Nurses in red union gear continued their daily rally outside the Moses Campus at East 210th Street, though the group had grown noticeably smaller and quieter. Still, dozens braved the cold weather, bundled in hats, heated gloves and hand warmers, as they chanted, “Monte, Monte, you can’t hide! We can see your greedy side!”
Outdoor temperatures hovered barely over 20 degrees as Dinowitz addressed the nurses. Their demands were reasonable, he said.
“You’re not asking for much. You’re asking to care for patients. You’re asking perhaps not to do it in a hallway, not to do it in a staircase. To do it with the safety and dignity that you and your patients deserve,” Dinowitz said to applause.
Dinowitz said he has supported nurses’ demands for years, even before his election to the Council, and that the same issues seemed to recur. For instance, in 2023, a smaller group of nurses at Montefiore, BronxCare and other not-for-profit hospitals in the city went on strike or narrowly averted strikes, with staffing ratios and overcrowding being a top concern then and now.
“Every single year, it seems like we’re rallying for the same thing,” Dinowitz said.
Aldebol, a longtime labor executive and organizer before her election in November, told the nurses they have the Council’s full support.
“This is about patient care. This is about safe staffing. This is about keeping our nurses safe against violence,” she said. “We hope that we can get to a resolution soon, because it’s freezing out here.”
A statement on the Montefiore website directs patients to keep existing medical appointments, saying that services “will not be impacted” by the strike. But going into week three, nurses told the Bronx Times that things inside are certainly not the same.
Deborah Drake, a pediatric nurse who lives within walking distance of the Moses Campus, was among those rallying outside.
“We keep the flow of care running, and so it’s literally on our backs. To think that we’re replaceable — it’s not true,” she said.
Her colleague, Rosemary Amo-Bonner of the Upper East Side, said it is “very unlikely” that patient care is unaffected by the strike. Nurses build trust with their patients, and having someone else take over isn’t the same, she said.
“The nurses in there don’t know them, don’t know how to deliver their care, don’t know how important we are to those patients,” Amo-Bonner said. “We are their advocates, one hundred percent.”
Drake said the nurses were eager to get out of the cold and back to work. “It’s our patients we’re out here for. We have to take a stand. As soon as we reach a fair contract, we’ll be right back in.”
As the strike proceeds with little sign of progress in negotiations, nurses from Montefiore, Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian are also addressing major national issues affecting patient care.
Though the topic of immigration enforcement was not directly addressed during the rally, NYSNA nurses have taken a strong stance against the presence of ICE agents in hospitals.
They are also joining a memorial this week for Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old VA nurse who was recently shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis. The vigil, held outside of VA NY Harbor Healthcare System, will include doctors, nurses and labor representatives from all five boroughs.
“We’ve seen the force of this administration’s anti-immigrant, anti-labor influence on our society and in our hospitals, and it’s part of the reason why this strike is still going,” said NYSNA President Nancy Hagans in a statement. “Patient and nurse safety is far too important for us to cut corners. So, we will continue to defend our patients as long as it takes to get the healthcare New Yorkers deserve.”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
