Web Desk:
According to the national media, for the first time in three decades, more than 150 resident physicians of New York City’s hospital went on strike on Monday. They’re demanding pay that’s equal to their non-union colleagues at Mount Sinai Hospital.
The unionized Elmhurst residents are employed by their academic affiliate, Mt. Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine. They say their non-union counterparts at Mount Sinai’s Upper East Side campus make $7,000 more than them annually.
According to Sunyata Altenor, the communications director for the Committee of Interns and Residents union, resident physicians at Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens don’t receive the same pay and benefits as their non-union counterparts working at other hospitals.
The resident physicians and Mount Sinai have been in negotiations for nearly a year.
In a statement, Mount Sinai responded that it’s “committed to finding a mutually acceptable solution as soon as possible,” and is offering a 19.1% compounded increase in pay across three years.
We are committed to working towards an equitable and reasonable resolution that is in the best interest of 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.
We have offered a commensurate package 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.
