About 7,000 nurses in New York City went on strike this morning after contract negotiations at two major hospitals stalled, CNN reports.

Tentative deals were reached in recent days covering nurses at seven hospitals, but deals have not yet been reached for Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan or Montefiore in the Bronx.

The nurses are seeking increased pay as well as promises by management to increase staffing to address the union’s major complaint of nurses being overworked and facing burnout. The affected hospitals have developed contingency plans, which include transferring some patients and paying temporary “traveling” nurses to fill in where possible.

{Matzav.com}