NYC Nurses to Strike Monday Amid Stalled Contract Talks with Major Hospitals
Thousands of nurses across New York City will go on strike Monday morning after negotiations over pay, staffing, and benefits fell apart over the weekend, according to the New York State Nurses Association.
Nearly 15,000 nurses from three major hospital systems, Mount Sinai, Montefiore, and NewYork-Presbyterian, plan to walk off the job at 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., depending on the facility, after contract talks failed to produce new agreements. The prior contracts expired December 31.
“Unfortunately, greedy hospital executives have decided to put profits above safe patient care and force nurses out on strike when we would rather be at the bedsides of our patients,” NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said in a late-night statement Sunday.
At a briefing earlier that day, Hagans said, “Although we are willing to negotiate on salaries, they have failed to deliver meaningful counter proposals and are still threatening healthcare cuts for frontline nurses.” She said nurses remained “ready to bargain all day and night to avoid a strike tomorrow.”
The walkout will take place at multiple Mount Sinai locations, including Mount Sinai Hospital, Morningside, and West, as well as at NewYork-Presbyterian’s Allen Hospital, Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, and Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Montefiore’s affected sites include the Jack D. Weiler Hospital, the Henry and Lucy Moses and Hutchinson campuses, and the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore.
Mount Sinai CEO Dr. Brendan Carr said in a Sunday memo to employees that “a labor disruption continues to appear to be very likely,” citing a long list of unresolved contract items.
Angela Karafazli, a spokesperson for NewYork-Presbyterian, said “all-day” negotiating sessions had taken place over the weekend and produced a tentative agreement on one non-economic proposal. However, she added that NYSNA “refused” to respond to the hospital’s most recent economic proposals.
Montefiore, Mount Sinai, and NewYork-Presbyterian stated jointly last week that they would work to minimize care disruptions during the strike. Montefiore spokesperson Joe Solomonese said hospital leadership is preparing for “what we anticipate could be a multi-week strike” and asserted that services would not be significantly impacted. Mount Sinai has brought in over 1,400 replacement nurses in anticipation of the strike, Carr said.
To prepare, some patients are being assessed for possible discharge, and certain appointments and procedures are being rescheduled. NewYork-Presbyterian said its emergency departments remain open and patients will be contacted directly if upcoming treatments are affected.
The city is also taking steps to manage the potential crisis. The Office of Emergency Management will oversee hospital capacity and coordinate patient transfers if needed. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Sunday that his administration is working closely with the Fire Department and the public hospital system and is “closely monitoring the situation.”
“The safety and wellbeing of this city is my top priority and ensuring New Yorkers have the care they need is critical, especially during flu season,” Mamdani said in a statement on X. “No New Yorker should have to fear losing access to health care, and no nurse should be asked to accept less pay, fewer benefits or less dignity for doing lifesaving work.” He urged both sides to stay at the negotiating table to finalize a deal.
Following the 2023 nurses strike at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, state officials investigated a reported infant death in Mount Sinai’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. According to Gothamist’s earlier reporting, strikes can pose a risk to patient safety, with a study of New York strikes from 1984 to 2004 showing increased mortality rates during walkouts.
Governor Kathy Hochul declared a disaster emergency Friday across counties affected by the potential strike. The executive order allows clinicians licensed in other states and Canada to practice in New York during the strike. “This could jeopardize the lives of thousands of New Yorkers and patients and I am strongly encouraging everyone to stay at the table, both sides, management and the nurses, until this is resolved,” Hochul said. She also announced that Department of Health staff will be stationed at the impacted hospitals throughout the strike.
At the core of the dispute are staffing conditions, healthcare benefits, workplace safety, and salary increases. The union says management at the three hospital systems is attempting to roll back staffing protections and cut health benefits. Nurses are pushing for enhanced hospital safety protocols, including panic buttons and metal detectors, following a recent incident at NewYork-Presbyterian Methodist Hospital where NYPD officers shot a man who was allegedly threatening staff and patients.
Hospitals have denied the union’s claims, asserting they are not seeking cuts to benefits. “We have proposed significant wage increases that keep our nurses among the highest paid in the region, enhancements to their already outstanding benefits, and new strategies that demonstrate our shared commitment to safe staffing,” NewYork-Presbyterian said in a statement.
In a memo shared with Gothamist, Montefiore’s chief nurse executive Maureen Scanlan stated that the hospital provides premium-free health insurance and no copays within its network, and emphasized its commitment to “continued, unchanged care.”
Joe Solomonese said Montefiore is maintaining that its services would not experience significant disruption during the potential strike. Karafazli of NewYork-Presbyterian said hospitals will remain operational throughout the strike and that patients should expect notice if appointments are rescheduled.
Meanwhile, NYSNA alleges that Mount Sinai violated labor practices by requiring union nurses to train their own replacements ahead of the strike. The union said it has filed unfair labor practice charges in response.
Smaller hospitals, which NYSNA said have less revenue than the three major institutions, have already reached agreements with the union. Those hospitals have agreed to match whatever pay increases result from these ongoing negotiations. NYSNA officials praised these smaller institutions for settling contracts and criticized what they called “wealthy” Mount Sinai, Montefiore, and NewYork-Presbyterian for not negotiating in good faith.
If it proceeds as planned, the walkout will be the city’s largest nurses strike ever.