Methodist Hospital Nurses Will Picket Today Over Contract Issues

by YS Gold 

NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital is used by many in our community, and will hopefully not be too badly affected by a walk-out scheduled for today over what nurses call a “terrible staffing proposal.” 

The nurse’s union has been in negotiations with the hospital leadership for ten days, and the negotiations—primary over staffing issues at the hospital—have stalled. The nurses will thus picket on Thursday morning. 

Among the complaints are cuts to staff in the labor and delivery, mother-baby, and chemotherapy infusion units, requiring nurses to work more shifts. The nurses are also concerned about the closure of the inpatient psychiatric unit, which causes the emergency room to become overcrowded—overburdening the nurses there. 

The nurses hope for a breakthrough similar to what took place at other local hospitals in recent months.