Nearly 15,000 Nurses Strike at New York’s Major Hospitals Over Staffing, Benefits and Safety
Nearly 15,000 nurses at Mount Sinai, Montefiore and NewYork‑Presbyterian struck after contract talks stalled, demanding safe staffing, health benefits, and stronger workplace violence protections now.
Overview
Almost 15,000 members of the New York State Nurses Association walked off on Jan. 12 across Mount Sinai (including Morningside and West), Montefiore and NewYork‑Presbyterian hospitals.
NYSNA says nurses seek safe staffing ratios, full employer-funded health coverage, wage increases, and stronger workplace-violence protections, citing COVID-era strain and recent hospital shootings.
Hospitals call union demands unaffordable, point to proposed wage increases, reported net incomes, and say they hired travel nurses to maintain patient care and services.
Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a disaster emergency to allow out-of-state staff; Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined picketers and urged negotiations while stressing patient access.
Strike occurs during a severe flu season with high hospitalisations, risking transfers, canceled procedures and ambulance diversions; prior 2023 arbitration had enforced staffing standards now contested.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the strike sympathetically by foregrounding union claims, vivid nurse anecdotes of workplace violence, and supportive political voices, while treating hospital objections primarily as quoted rebuttals labeling demands reckless. The coverage balances perspectives but editorial choices—story ordering and emotional examples—nudge readers toward empathy for nurses.
Sources (15)
FAQ
Nurses are demanding safe staffing ratios, full employer-funded health coverage, wage increases including nearly 40% hikes, pensions, and stronger protections against workplace violence.[1]
Hospitals have hired over 1,400 replacement nurses including travel nurses, declared readiness to maintain patient care, and called the union's demands unaffordable and extreme, such as $3.6 billion in costs.[1]
Governor Kathy Hochul declared a disaster emergency to allow out-of-state staff to help cover shifts amid concerns over patient care during flu season.
Hospitals report all emergency departments remain open, with patient discharges, transfers, and rescheduled appointments; however, it risks transfers, canceled procedures, and ambulance diversions during severe flu season.
The previous contract expired December 31 after a 2023 three-day strike that enforced staffing standards; negotiations stalled despite weekend talks, leading to this action on January 12, 2026.
History
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