Mayor Adams Requests Doctors Council and Health Care Partners Engage in Mediation to Avert a Strike at Four Public Hospitals

January 3, 2025

Parties Would Engage in 60-Day "Cooling Off" Period to Resolve Underlying Issues and Continue Caring for New Yorkers

Doctors Council Physicians are Employed by Private Affiliated Health Care Providers That Contract with NYC Health + Hospitals to Treat Patients at Their Facilities

NEW YORK - New York City Mayor Eric Adams today sent a letter to Doctors Council SEIU and private health care providers that employ them to staff NYC Health + Hospitals facilities, requesting that they engage in a mediation process to avert a strike that would affect four New York City public hospitals. The Adams administration urges that a mediation process be part of a "cooling off period" during which all of the parties attempt to resolve their differences and avoid disrupting health care being delivered to thousands of patients across the five boroughs. Mayor Adams' letter also requests that the parties do not take further action towards a strike throughout this 60-day period and that all parties select a "mutually agreeable mediator." Mayor Adams has offered the assistance of the New York City Office of Labor Relations and its commissioner, Renee Campion.

"Our administration is committed to providing excellent and equitable health care to New Yorkers, while also ensuring all workers in our city are treated fairly and with dignity," said Mayor Adams. "A physicians' strike at four public safety-net hospitals in three boroughs poses substantial risks to the health and safety of the city's patients and our communities. That is why I have asked all parties to return to the table with the help of a mediator to come to an agreement. I also commit the efforts of Labor Relations Commissioner Campion if she can be of assistance in helping to resolve this dispute. I know each of the parties share my commitment to ensuring that high-quality care remains available to all New Yorkers, regardless of their ability to pay, and I am hopeful for a speedy solution."

"These four hospitals provide essential care to New Yorkers, including emergency and trauma services, inpatient and burn care, behavioral health and psychiatric treatment, and ambulatory and primary care - a strike could impact the health of thousands of New Yorkers," said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom. "The Adams administration's efforts will be helpful to try to resolve the underlying labor dispute and advance us all towards our shared mission of health care and equity for all."

"We value the physicians who serve patients at NYC Health + Hospitals every day," said NYC Health + Hospitals President and CEO Mitchell Katz, MD. "Our primary goal is to prevent a strike and ensure that quality care remains uninterrupted for our patients at these four hospitals."

On January 2, 2025, Doctors Council issued a strike notice that would affect four NYC Health + Hospital Facilities: NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi, North Central Bronx, South Brooklyn Health, and Queens. Physicians at these sites are employed by Mt. Sinai (Queens) and Physician Affiliate Group of New York (Jacobi, North Central Bronx, and South Brooklyn), which contract with NYC Health + Hospitals to provide physician services.