A national day of rallies and protests is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 4, at hospitals and clinics across the United States, as health care workers and advocates demand an end to the unchecked proliferation of artificial intelligence in patient care and call for a single-payer health care system.
The coordinated actions come amid growing outrage over the recent layoff of 12 veteran nurses at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx who were replaced by AI-powered software just months after winning a hard-fought contract that explicitly included protections against automation.
“We are outraged about these layoffs because these dedicated nurses are being replaced by AI,” said Shaiju Kalathil, a nurse at Montefiore and a union executive committee member. “This is a violation of the contract that we recently won by going on strike. It should also concern every practitioner and patient who cares about the future of healthcare and the quality of care they receive.”
Several New Jersey-based groups are planning to join the protest action at Montefiore, according to Jay Arena, an associate professor of sociology at the College of Staten Island, and one of the Garden State’s most vocal agents of change. Arena has been involved in various community and labor organizing initiatives for decades, and he has led a network of organizations working together in solidarity to resist the deportation machine.
The affected nurses — utilization review professionals who examine patient records and negotiate with insurers to secure coverage for physician-ordered care — were given 45-day notices on May 28 after returning from a 41-day strike that concluded in February. Their layoffs became effective July 12.
Marilyn Shuler, who spent nearly four decades at Montefiore, said she and her colleagues were given no explanation when their workflows changed after the strike. The union contacted management but received no response until the termination notices arrived.
“I’ve always, always taken so much pride in the organization that I’ve worked for all these years, and just to be treated this way,” Shuler told the Guardian. “It’s disrespectful, and it’s very disheartening, and my colleagues feel the same way as well.”
The AI software replacing the nurses is provided by Datavant, a private-equity-backed technology company with ties to Palantir — the same firm used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to surveil and deport immigrants. Datavant was also the subject of a $900,000 class-action settlement over a May 2024 data breach that compromised the personal information of approximately 50,000 patients.
‘Patients become the beta testers’
The Montefiore layoffs represent what the New York State Nurses Association calls one of the first cases of licensed health care professionals being displaced by AI. But union leaders warn the problem extends far beyond New York.
Hospital chains, HMOs and insurance companies nationwide are introducing chatbots and AI systems to eliminate nurses, mental health clinicians and other health care workers, according to organizers. At Kaiser Permanente in California, nurses and mental health workers are being laid off and replaced by chatbots, they said.
“This is dangerous for people who need real healthcare workers and not chatbots,” the rally notice states.
Dr. Michael Bass, a medical influencer and physician, wrote on LinkedIn that New York hospitals have “quietly rolled out new AI tools without notifying nurses,” with no training, no safety protocol and no disclosure about what the technology would actually do. “When executives move faster than the clinical reality can absorb, patients become the beta testers,” Bass wrote. “AI isn’t dangerous on its own, but unchecked AI deployment absolutely is.”
The NYSNA has also highlighted reports that AI is increasingly determining insurance preapprovals, with patients being denied coverage based on automated assessments. Meanwhile, millions of working people are losing health care coverage because of Medicaid cutbacks and the elimination of Affordable Care Act subsidies, organizers said.
‘A fascist attack on the entire working class’
The Sept. 4 rallies will also demand an end to what organizers describe as the “firings and terror” targeting Temporary Protected Status nurses and health care workers, many from the Haitian community. The notice calls on the Nurses Union and SEIU 1199 to stand with members and their families “who are being put in concentration camps on their way back to Haiti.”
“This is also an attack on all the community members who need these healthcare and homecare workers for their care not to mention it being a frontal attack on the unions,” the notice states. “This is a fascist attack on the entire working class.”
Organizers are calling for a national single-payer health care system to replace the current privately run model, which they say “only benefits the billionaires and companies like United Healthcare which is privatizing and destroying Medicare for more profits using AI to deny care.”
Rallies set for Labor Day weekend
The first actions are scheduled for Sept. 4 at noon at Kaiser Hospital in San Francisco, with simultaneous rallies and actions planned at hospitals and clinics nationwide.
Initial endorsers of the protests include National Single Payer, California United for Single Payer, the National Action Coalition, Work Week and the United Front Committee for a Labor Party.
Montefiore hospital has disputed the union’s claims. Joe Solmonese, senior vice president for government relations and strategic communications at Montefiore, said in a statement that “the claims by NYSNA are inaccurate and misleading.” He described the technology as a “nonclinical program that helps facilitate the paperwork process” and said the hospital is “always investing in new technology to ensure the best care and outcomes for our patients.”
But Shuler said her job required complex clinical judgment — medication changes, discharge planning and other nuanced decisions — that cannot be replicated by a machine.
“AI should be a tool used in conjunction with the clinical expert, not to replace,” Shuler said. “We’re not against technology. There are several advances in healthcare utilizing technology. The issue is with new tech without evidence.”
The union has filed a class-action grievance over the layoffs, alleging management violated the contract by failing to consult with the union before issuing the termination notices.
For more information about the Sept. 4 rallies, contact carollang55@gmail.com.
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