More than 150 physicians went on strike May 22 at NYC Health + Hospitals' Elmhurst Hospital Center, a union spokesperson confirmed to Becker's. The planned five-day walkout represents the first physician strike at a New York City hospital since 1990.
The strike involves members of the Committee of Interns and Residents, a union that represents about 170 resident physicians who work at Elmhurst Hospital and are employed by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
The union has been negotiating with Mount Sinai for 10 months and voted to authorize a strike May 2. Union members claim Mount Sinai is not offering physicians who work at the public hospital salaries up to parity with non-unionized residents working at Mount Sinai facilities in wealthier parts of the city.
In a May 19 bargaining update, Mount Sinai said it offered the union its "last, best and final offer," which would have given residents 5 percent to 7 percent raises annually over the next three years.
"We are committed to working towards an equitable and reasonable resolution that is in the best interest for both our residents at Elmhurst as well as for the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and are working closely with partners at Elmhurst Hospital to ensure the same quality and level of care and services that the local community expects and deserves are not affected by the strike," a spokesperson for Mount Sinai told Becker's on May 22. "We have offered a package that is commensurate or above the tentative agreement between residents at Jamaica and Flushing hospitals and are committed to finding a mutually acceptable solution as soon as possible."