Members of the Committee of Interns and Residents plan to begin a five-day strike June 13 at Mount Sinai Morningside and Mount Sinai West in New York City.
The union represents 500 resident physicians and fellows at the facilities, according to a news release from CIR, a local of the Service Employees International Union. Mount Sinai Morningside and Mount Sinai West are part of the Mount Sinai Health System, which includes more than 7,200 physicians total, according to its website.
Union members voted to authorize a strike in May. The union and management began negotiating a new labor contract in January. A statement from Mount Sinai Health System says the health system "is committed to providing the best possible working environments, wages and benefits" for physicians and continues to negotiate in good faith to avert a strike.
The union contends that Mount Sinai has engaged in bad-faith bargaining and refuses them parity with non-union colleagues.
"It's important that our patients and the community understand that this strike is a last resort for us. For decades, resident doctors have avoided striking, but we have reached a point where enough is enough. We live in one of the most expensive cities in the world, have families, hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and we work 80-hour weeks — we deserve to be treated fairly," Carla Calagua Bedoya, MD, said in the union release.
"On Wednesday, May 31, we offered CIR a salary package equal to those the union has accepted at other New York City hospitals," Mount Sinai Health System said in its June 5 statement. "We remain confident a resolution can be reached. … However, we are prepared for any potential staffing changes to ensure patients and families receive the highest quality care under all circumstances. The care of our patients is our top priority and will do everything possible to minimize any inconvenience."
If a strike occurs at Mount Sinai Morningside and Mount Sinai West, it would take place weeks after members of the Committee of Interns and Residents and Mount Sinai reached a tentative agreement, ending a three-day strike at NYC Health + Hospitals' Elmhurst Hospital Center.