Doctors at Jamaica, Flushing hospitals set to walk off the job on Monday
NEW YORK -- Doctors from Jamaica and Flushing hospitals in Queens are preparing to strike on Monday.
Physicians say they'll be on the picket line outside of the hospitals for the first day of their planned five-day strike.
The walkout would mark the first strike in 30 years involving doctors in New York City.
The nearly 300 doctors say MediSys Health Network, which operates Jamaica and Flushing hospitals, has been bargaining in bad faith for months.
READ MORE: Doctors at 2 Queens hospitals give their strike notice for later this month
One of the resident-physicians says going on strike is a last resort.
"Unfortunately, we are here. I will say that there could be more engagement. I do feel that they were not as open to communication as I thought they would be," Dr. Uchenna Chinakwe said.
Jamaica Hospital released a lengthy statement:
"Economically, Jamaica and Flushing Hospitals have proposed an 18% increase over 3 years to the Committee of Interns and Residents (CIR), which is the same generous raise offered and accepted by other unions we recently negotiated with, including 1199 healthcare workers union and the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA).
"To address non-economic issues, we presented our residents with exact same offer that CIR residents from multiple other area hospitals have accepted in recent weeks.
"The day before our last scheduled bargaining session we notified CIR that we were prepared to negotiate as long as it would take to reach a settlement, but to our dismay CIR unexpectedly left the table at 8:00 p.m.
"Providing our patients with the highest-quality care is a top priority for Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and Flushing Hospital Medical Center. Therefore, our patients and community can rest assured that the pending CIR work stoppage will not impact inpatient or outpatient care. Our hospitals have implemented a comprehensive strike plan to ensure all services remain open to our community. No elective procedures have been postponed or canceled and all medical and surgical appointments will remain open."
Editor's note: The strike has since been called off. CLICK HERE for the latest.