NYC Nurses' Strike Reflects National Tension in Healthcare Between Staffing, Safety, Sustainability

New York City's largest nurses strike getting underway this morning with nearly 15,000 nurses walking off the job after contract talks broke down between their union and hospital officials. Joining me now to discuss the impact are Democratic strategist Hima Moore and Republican New York City Councilman Frank Morano. Great to have you both back with us. So critics are saying that this strike hurts >> Thank you. uh patients in New York City, the patient. Um while others are saying the nurses are overworked, uh that's detrimental to the patients uh well-being. Frank uh or Councilman, let me ask you as a councilman in the city, how do you see uh the strike impacting New York and and and the patients really who matter most? >> Uh Frank is fine, first of all. Second of all, those two things are not mutually exclusive. the uh harm being to the patient and the fact that the nurses are overworked. And if people watching around the country, around the world think this is just a New York City issue. It's not. What's happening in New York is not isolated. And it reflects this national tension in health care between staffing, safety, and sustainability. Nurses are the connective tissue of the health care system. When they raise alarms, it usually signals deeper structural problems. Now, uh I you don't you don't need to read a bargaining agreement to understand that staffing ratios and workplace safety directly affect patient outcome. So the two eitheror scenarios that you just laid out, they're very much linked. >> Uh now, Hima, what do you make of this um strike taking place? You have one hospital there in New York City um in the Bronx, I believe it is, saying that one of the points of contention with the union is over firing nurses that are found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job. Um what do you make of the nurses requests as well as the hospital? >> Hey Steve, good to see you and happy new year. Happy to be back with you. First and foremost, I agree with what every what everything that the councilman said and you laid it out so nicely. None of this is mutually exclusive. What's been happening on the ground here in New York and to the councilman's point all over the country is nurses have been sounding the alarm for quite some time right now and what and and the bigger problem that I'm concerned about Steve to be quite frank is that the health care system we have as is in a crisis where they're being hit from all all four corners right now including the health insurance crisis that's coming including the nurses being on strike and potentially in other cities and other states and so I believe in collective bargaining you know while I don't always agree with all the uh the the asks and requests of of of of of unions and collect and and what happens in collective bargaining. I think the nurses have a right to do this and and to to be quite fair, they have been sounding this alarm for quite some time and they have brought a lot of attention to this issue. And so I think the most important thing for us to do right now instead of criticizing the the the the small pieces of this uh bargaining agreement, we have to figure out a way to make health care both more accessible for people but more but more safe and productive for professionals who are delivering this care for us. saving lives. >> Now, the new mayor in New York City, Zoran Mandani, joining the joining the picket line in Washington Heights, New York, and posting on his social media saying uh New York City stands with the nurses. Him, come back to you. Uh this is certainly in line with Mandani's campaign. Uh is this an appropriate move as mayor? I mean, look, I look just like what with what what President Donald Trump, Mayor Mandani has told people who he is and where he stands on all these issues. And so, we can't be surprised by that. But I don't think it's wrong for the city to stand with nurses. I think what we have to figure out, standing with nurses is not anti- anyone else. Standing with nurses is standing up for for good health care, standing for patients who need these nurses most. These nurses in New York and all over the country have great paying jobs and they're and in some cases they're taking care of their entire families. Um, and so we got to figure out a way to get them into a better position, a more a safer environment, an environment that's going to allow for them to continue to take care of patients and take care of their families. >> Frank, your thoughts and uh what do you make of Mayor Mumdani's uh short tenure on the job thus far, 12 days? >> Well, I don't give him high marks for his uh tenure on the job uh so far. He's made some appointments that I think are uh a couple are very sane and sober, but for the most part, the people that he's appointed are bonkers to and the way that he's been seeking to demonize landlords, I think, is totally counterproductive to his uh broader goal of affordability. That being said, and I I think his uh reaction on the police shooting was a little too little a little too late uh that we experienced last weekend. But that being said, I uh think both on the substance and the politics of what he's doing with this nurses strike, I think he's exactly right. I happen to agree with the core sentiment that he's been putting out there that nurses show up when people are at their most vulnerable and their value is totally undeniable. But I think it's appropriate for the mayor to recognize the indispensable role nurses play, especially after 9/11 and the COVID pandemic. But the politics are so important here because uh New York City is a traditionally Democratic city. Mamani ran a campaign that was far to the left of most traditional Democrats that get elected. Kind of the connective tissue that connects his wing of the Democratic party with where mainstream New York Democratic voters are is labor. And if he can hold himself up as a champion of labor against what he can frame as the greedy hospital owners, I think that's a winning political issue for him and it's something that I do believe that he's sincere in campaigning for. >> Councilman Mareno giving some uh credit when credit is due and perhaps some good political advice there. Uh pivoting to yet another topic, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell under federal investigation. Now, this for his testimony to Congress about the Fed's new uh building, the construction that is going into renovating it. Uh ha, talk to us about what the potential impact of this might be and does it send a message uh to the Fed beyond Powell as an individual? >> Yeah, in some ways, we're already feeling the impact of this. Look, we, you know, when when Kla Harris ran for president and and Democrats were trying to build a case against uh President Donald Trump, one of the things they said was Donald Trump would use all of his power and will of the federal government to punish his adversaries, those who don't want to do something he would like them to do. And so, we're seeing that every day. And it's quite unfortunate that uh the executive branch is using the judicial branch in such a way uh that is that is going to divide America. you know, I'm not going to, you know, take uh everything that Jerome Powers has done in his six-year tenure and and and and and cheerlead that. Uh but I do think the the the reason that he's being investigated is political and it doesn't have a lot of credence as it stands. But we've seen it time and time again over the past few months that President Trump and his DOJ are going after people who are not agreeing with him, which is very dangerous for this democracy. Councilman, how do you uh respond to the sentiment that uh this is intended to punish Powell for not lowering interest rates? >> Look, I think independence doesn't mean immunity. Even the Federal Reserve and its chairman answer to the law. If you testify before Congress, the truth isn't optional. Uh I think a $2.5 billion renovation deserves transparency, not a shrug. and unelected officials with enormous power should face more scrutiny, not less. So, I think investigating potential misuse of taxpayer dollars, I don't think it's political. I think it's responsible. The rule of law doesn't stop at the Federal Reserve's front door. >> Hi, Moore. Uh, New York City Councilman Frank Morano, thank you both for coming on.