Nearly 15,000 nurses at several New York City hospitals hit the picket lines at 6 a.m. on Jan. 12, after no agreement was reached ahead of the deadline for contract negotiations. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency. Some hospitals in the region are operating as normal, such as all three Northwell hospitals on Long Island which reached an agreement to avert any strikes at their facilities.
The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) had called for an “unfair labor practice strike” over threats by management at several local hospitals of drastic cuts to healthcare benefits for frontline nurses. NYSNA is demanding higher pay, increased staffing, fully funded benefits, and better protection against violence for its members. The contract actually expired on Dec. 31, 2025, but the NYSNA attempted to reach an agreement and extended a strike deadline. Today’s is the largest nurses’ strike in the history of New York, impacting Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside, Mount Sinai West, Montefiore Hospital, and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has supported the striking nurses and spoke at their rally, saying: “There is no shortage of wealth in the healthcare industry. The CEO of Montefiore made more than $16 million last year. The CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian made $26 million. But too many nurses can’t make ends meet.” Mamdani said that nurses are not asking for millions, but for “pensions to be safeguarded, to be protected in their own workplace, and to receive the pay and health benefits they deserve.” Mamdani urged both hospital management and union leaders to return to the bargaining table, and said that the city is taking action to protect both patients and healthcare workers during the strike.
