On Tuesday, Bernie Sanders and Mayor Zoran Mamdani joined striking nurses in New York City, protesting against the high salaries of hospital CEOs.
This occurred during the largest nursing strike the city has ever seen, where the Democratic Socialists confronted representatives of the New York State Nursing Association. Their argument focused on how funds spent on high salaries for top staff and traveling nurses, who are needed to cover shifts, should instead support the front-line workers.
The three hospitals involved—NewYork-Presbyterian, Mount Sinai, and Montefiore—claim that the nurses’ requests are financially unattainable, with disagreements prevailing over salaries, benefits, staffing, and safe working conditions.
Since January 12th, over 15,000 nurses have refrained from work.
The nursing union brought in Sanders and Hitzner to support the striking nurses at Mount Sinai West in very cold temperatures. Soon after, protesters were transported by bus to continue their demonstrations at other hospitals.
“Don’t say it’s impossible to pay the CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian $26 million a year and still have enough nurses on staff,” Sanders remarked. He also pointed out the salaries of the Montefiore and Mount Sinai CEOs, at $16 million and $5 million, respectively.
“We can’t talk about paying nurses with dignity while spending so much on traveling nurses,” he added.
Mamdani joined in, emphasizing that the strike centered on secure working conditions and fair contracts.
“Like Bernie said, this isn’t just about money,” said Paul, a 34-year-old supporter. “If it were, we’d focus on compensation. This really is about acknowledging the worth of every nurse in the city.”
A hospital representative described the union’s demands as “totally unreasonable” and criticized the tone of those statements.
“And there hasn’t been much progress at the negotiation table,” commented Ken Laske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association.
He noted the challenging financial situation for hospitals, referencing past funding cuts that will affect New York hospitals significantly. “Senator Sanders has long opposed cuts to hospital funding, yet the One Big Beautiful Act is expected to slash $8 billion from these hospitals,” he pointed out.
“This is our current situation.”
In response, NewYork-Presbyterian announced it would be “unreasonable” to meet NYSNA’s requests due to the heightened challenges in healthcare today.
The hospital alleged that the nurses were seeking a 25% salary increase over the next three years, but union leaders countered that this specific proposal had not been on the table for months.
The union also argued that the figures presented by the hospitals represented “inflated calculations,” distracting from more critical issues like health benefits, staffing, and safety.
“The striking nurses are ready to negotiate whenever called upon by the arbitrator,” a union representative stated. “We’re open to compromises on pay, but safety in hospitals is non-negotiable.”
Following the support from Sanders and Mamdani, nurses rallied for nearly an hour at Mount Sinai West before boarding several buses to picket at various locations. Approximately 100 nurses continued their demonstration at the Midtown West facility.
