Nearly 16,000 nurses in New York City will go on strike Monday over a pay dispute amid contract negotiations.
The action, which will take place at five large hospitals, is organized by the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), which requires hospitals to put patients before profits.
Hospitals insist they continue to bargain in good faith and accuse unions of trying to disrupt patient care.
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According to the union, CEOs of three hospitals – Montefiore, Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian – are paid nearly 12,000 times more than the average nurse.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, who has worked at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn for more than 30 years, told the Guardian the hospital is working to scale back safe staffing ratios, refusing to guarantee health care benefit coverage for nurses and refusing to address workplace safety issues.
The three major hospitals involved in contract negotiations have $1.6 billion in cash or cash equivalents on hand, according to the union, and have begun hiring travel nurses to replace those preparing for the strike.
“We’re asking them to invest these millions of dollars into the community so that we can continue to work hard to care for our patients, to invest in staffing, to invest these millions of dollars in our health insurance so that we can continue to work,” Hagens said. “We’re not taking this lightly. We’re not asking for a strike. Management is the one who tells us we need to strike. They’re the ones who keep us on the picket line.”
She cited a sharp increase in attacks on health care workers since the Covid-19 pandemic and safety concerns raised by last November’s shooting at Mount Sinai, in which three nurses were reportedly disciplined for their comments.
“Large, wealthy hospitals are in much better financial shape than they were three years ago, but they are still asking for takeout,” Hagens claimed. “They are telling us to choose between wages, maintaining health care and safe staffing because we can’t have it all. Patient safety should never be a bargaining chip. Nurses will not cut corners on patients and their safety. Nurses are simply asking New York City’s private hospitals to put patients before profits.”
On January 2, nurses represented by NYSNA issued a 10-day strike notice in multiple hospitals in New York. Seven smaller hospitals made progress in contract negotiations on Tuesday, with unions withdrawing strike notices.
About 1,000 nurses at three Northwell hospitals on Long Island also issued strike notices.
“Our nurses have been at the table since September 2025 with very little change,” said Simone Way, a nurse at Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital and a member of the NYSNA executive committee. “Even though we started the process in September, there have been committees within the hospital having the same discussions about staffing since January 2025, so our management is not surprised by what our nurses think we need.”
Way also criticized hospital management for blaming nurses for the strike, saying they put patients at risk and were demanding too much. “They do have money, but they don’t seem willing to invest that money in their nurses or in our ability to provide the best care possible to our patients,” she said.
Mount Sinai denies accusations of retaliation against nurses following the November shooting and denies trying to strip nurses of their health benefits. “We are continuing to bargain in good faith and hope to reach a fair, reasonable and responsible agreement, but unfortunately, just a week before a potential strike, NYSNA refuses to back down from its extreme economic proposals that require hospitals like ours to spend billions on increased care reimbursement and additional hiring,” a spokesperson said.
They claimed that “much of the union’s claims about bargaining are untrue” and confirmed that the hospital was taking steps to prepare for the strike.
NewYork-Presbyterian accused the union of not backing down on wages. “NYSNA’s threat to strike is intended to disrupt patient care across the city,” a spokesperson said. “We have taken the necessary steps to ensure our patients continue to receive safe, excellent care. We will always meet our fundamental obligations to the communities we serve.”
Montefiore did not respond to a request for comment.
