Strike Is Over, But the Fight Isn’t

Throughout the 41-day New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) strike, Hospital Workers Building Union Power (HWBUP) put out a series of leaflets at each important moment to guide the nurses in their struggle. Crucially, the leaflets posed an alternative to the strategy of the union leadership, which worked hard to keep the strike respectable for Democratic politicians rather than mobilize broader layers of the class as was needed. We reprint here the last of these leaflets, which draws lessons for the fights ahead. It was first distributed to NY Presbyterian strikers as they returned to work.

FEBRUARY 25—Nurses at Presbyterian return to work Thursday after the longest nurses strike in NYC history. Strikers at Montefiore and Mount Sinai returned 12 days ago. In terms of the contracts signed, this strike is not the “victory” that the NYSNA leaders proclaim. The terms are very similar to the previous contracts. However, the bosses really thought they could freeze the nurses union out, and at one point they even talked of firing all the strikers. The strikers stood firm and faced down the threat. Presbyterian nurses stood firm even as NYSNA leadership stabbed them in the back and the bosses went into overdrive with a return-to-work scheme to break the strike. The bosses did not crack the union despite its misleadership, and the strikers deserve to be very proud of this.

But this is not the end of the story. You don’t need to be a labor relations expert to know that these 3-year contracts will not last 3 years. There are already reports of retaliation against strikers, and outrageously Brooklyn Hospital bosses cut nurses’ healthcare even though they signed a new contract with the union. The Hagans leadership withdrew the strike notice at that location and still the NYSNA leaders won’t lead the nurses out! If they let the bosses walk all over us, the fight will have been for nothing. No healthcare, no work!

We must go over what happened in this strike and learn the necessary lessons for the fights ahead. Why was this strike so long, but won so little? It comes down to the strategy of the union leadership. The strikers showed true grit and determination. This is essential, but not enough by itself to win real gains. Some strikers have asked was it worth it and is it worth being in a union? This demoralization is the fault of the leadership who made clear to the bosses from the get-go they didn’t want to fight. At the end of the day strikers voted for the contracts because they were the best offers the current leadership could get. A new strategy for the strike and leaders who wanted to fight to see it through were needed to win more.

The Presby nurses all know that Hagans and Kane have to go, and they’re right! But who will replace them? This is the most important question coming out of the strike—who should lead the union? HWBUP has been arguing since before the strike, and all through it, that the union needs a leadership that wants to FIGHT and knows how to do it. Here is what nurses should be looking for in their new leaders:

• Don’t divide the union—for a single fighting unit! The first problem was settling with so many hospitals right before the strike. Although 21,000 nurses voted for strike action, only 15,000 from 3 employers went out. Just when the bosses needed to feel the heat, the union leaders turned down the flame. This weakened the strike and weakened the position of the nurses not on strike (like in Brooklyn Hospital). All through the strike we heard from upper NYSNA that we’re not going back until we all go back. But again, the leadership chopped up the union and had Mount Sinai and Montefiore settle when Presbyterian hadn’t. Then Presbyterian settled even though the Allen Pavilion nurses were left with nothing. Strikers talked to us about the importance of unity, but their leaders chopped up the fighting power of the union. We don’t need unity with these leaders. We need a leadership that can bring the fighting power of the union to bear as a single fist.
• Get rid of the no-strike clauses and build a fighting alliance of hospital unions! No serious attempts were made to make other hospital unions join the strike. All hospital workers understand the issues nurses are fighting for because they face them too: overwork, underpay and dangerous conditions. We need to fight together against the bosses or they will pick us off one by one. HWBUP encouraged strikers to form committees with workers in other unions to build the strike. We put out a leaflet “The Nurses Are Outside, but Where Is 1199?” and distributed it at struck hospitals and some nearby that were not on strike. The current union leaders see the no-strike clauses and ban on solidarity strikes as sacrosanct. But you can’t beat the house playing by the house rules! 1199’s contract is coming up in September. Don’t let upper NYSNA do to 1199 what the 1199 leaders did to you! It is essential for the unions to fight together against the bosses.
• For union control of safety! Safe-staffing levels and workplace safety are burning concerns. During the strike, we urged the union to take control of providing essential care in the hospitals (e.g., caring for critical ICU patients and new emergency cases) while demanding all elective and outpatient services be cancelled. Together with pickets that kept the scabs out, this would hit the bosses in the pocket, and it would also show how the union is the best and only reliable enforcer of safe working conditions. The bosses subject patients to unsafe care, from short staffing to bringing in scabs and firing 3 Mount Sinai nurses for trying to protect their patients from the scabs. All hospital unions must demand the reinstatement of the 3 nurses, with clean records! The current union leaders look to management to protect workers, and in turn management brings in the NYPD to harass staff and patients and implements anti-worker surveillance measures. Fighting for union control of safety would empower the workers and improve patient care by cutting management out of the picture as much as possible. The union must also demand that ICE and NYPD stay out of the hospitals for the safety of both the patients and the workers.
• No union money should go to the Democrats—Build a strike fund! NYSNA endorsed Gov Hochul last time around. What did she do with that support and money? She issued several Emergency Orders to help the bosses herd scabs. In the middle of this strike, Mayor Mamdani endorsed Hochul for re-election. Democrats serve the bosses even when they sound like they care about workers’ interests. So, instead of paying scab-herders and their accomplices—a criminal waste of members’ dues—the union should use that money to build a fund that can support members in struggle. The bosses strung out the strike because they know that hunger, sickness and the rent coming due give them an opening to entice nurses back to work and undercut the strike. To counter this, it is essential that the union have funds for strike pay and health insurance. A fighting leadership would put the resources of the union to work in the interests of the members, and not pay the Democrats or Republicans a penny.
• Organize the unorganized! The union faced down a union-busting effort in this strike, but the bosses will keep trying. The best way to assert that the unions are here to stay is to organize the hospital workers who do not have union contracts. Each of the employers in this strike has non-union clinics and departments. Presby unions: Organize Weill Cornell! Mount Sinai unions: Organize the faculty practice associates! Every effort should be made to organize travelers and assert that union rights and protections apply to their hiring and work conditions. This kind of organizing campaign would build the power of the union and the morale of the workers. To make the greatest headway, it would require the joint efforts of all the hospital unions, laying the basis for future common action.

Nurses need new leadership for the fights ahead. Upper NYSNA’s strategy has only weakened the union while the bosses got crazy rich. The recent strikes in healthcare show that the bosses have changed the rules, and we have to build union leaderships that can rise to this challenge. It can’t wait for the convention, it is necessary today. If you want to discuss this fighting strategy, contact us.