Additional Coverage:
Thousands of NYC Nurses Strike Amidst Contract Disputes, Raising Concerns for Patient Care
NEW YORK – Thousands of nurses across three major New York City hospital systems began a strike Monday morning after weekend negotiations failed to resolve ongoing contract disputes. The walkout, affecting an estimated 15,000 nurses, commenced at 6 a.m. at The Mount Sinai Hospital and its two satellite campuses, NewYork-Presbyterian, and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.
The timing of the strike, coinciding with a severe flu season, has sparked concerns about its potential impact on patient care. Hospitals may face the difficult decision of transferring patients, canceling scheduled procedures, or diverting ambulances. This could also place an increased burden on city hospitals not involved in the dispute, as patients seek alternative medical care.
In preparation for the strike, the affected hospitals have been actively recruiting temporary nurses to mitigate potential staffing shortages. During negotiations, statements from the hospitals affirmed their commitment to “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore Medical Center, for example, issued a message reassuring patients that appointments would be honored.
While the work stoppage is occurring simultaneously at multiple hospitals, each medical center is engaged in independent negotiations with the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA). Several other hospitals in the city and surrounding suburbs successfully reached agreements in recent days, thereby averting potential strikes.
The core demands of the striking nurses, while varying slightly by hospital, primarily revolve around staffing levels and workplace safety. The union contends that nurses are grappling with unmanageable workloads.
Furthermore, nurses are advocating for enhanced security measures within their workplaces, citing recent incidents, including a volatile situation last week at a Brooklyn hospital where a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a room before being fatally shot by police. The union is also seeking limitations on the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare settings.
The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations maintain that they have been actively working to improve staffing levels but assert that the union’s overall demands are financially unsustainable. Nurses overwhelmingly voted to authorize the strike last month.
Both New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had previously voiced apprehension regarding the potential strike. As the strike deadline approached, Mayor Mamdani urged both parties to continue negotiations and reach an agreement that would “both honor our nurses and keep our hospitals open,” emphasizing that “Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable.”
This current strike echoes a similar, albeit shorter, work stoppage just three years ago in 2023, involving nurses at Mount Sinai and Montefiore. That three-day strike resulted in a deal that included a 19% pay increase over three years for those hospitals. It also led to promises of improved staffing levels, though the union and hospitals now dispute the extent of progress made and whether the hospitals are upholding their staffing guarantees.