New York: Thousands of nurses walked off the job across three major hospital systems in New York City on Monday after weekend negotiations failed to break a deadlock over new contracts, triggering one of the largest healthcare strikes the city has seen in years.
The strike involves hospitals within the NewYork-Presbyterian, Mount Sinai and Montefiore systems. Picket lines formed early in the day outside facilities in Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn as nurses demanded improved staffing levels, safer working conditions and fair pay. According to the New York State Nurses Association, about 15,000 nurses are taking part in the walkout.
All affected hospitals remained open, relying heavily on temporary staff to maintain services. The dispute does not involve city-run hospitals, but officials warned the action could still ripple across the healthcare system, particularly during a severe flu season. Hospitals may be forced to delay procedures, transfer patients or divert ambulances, placing added pressure on nearby medical centers.
The strike presents an early political challenge for New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who took office on a pro-worker platform. Mamdani visited nurses on the picket line in Upper Manhattan, praising their work and urging hospital executives to reach a fair agreement that respects their role on the front lines of patient care.
Governor Kathy Hochul said state health officials had been deployed to monitor patient safety at the affected hospitals. She called on both sides to return to negotiations and reach a deal that reflects the essential work nurses perform every day.
Staffing remains the central issue in the dispute. Nurses argue that chronic shortages have left them with unsafe and unmanageable workloads, undermining patient care. They are also seeking stronger workplace security measures following a series of violent incidents inside hospitals, as well as limits on the use of artificial intelligence in clinical settings.
Hospital administrators say staffing has improved since the last major strike in 2023, but contend that the union’s demands are financially unsustainable. Mount Sinai said it had secured more than 1,400 temporary nurses ahead of the walkout, while Montefiore and NewYork-Presbyterian said they were prepared to continue operating throughout the strike.
Each hospital is negotiating separately with the union, and several other facilities in the city and surrounding suburbs reached last-minute agreements in recent days to avoid similar action.
The last citywide nursing strike, in 2023, ended after three days with a deal that included pay increases of 19 percent over three years and commitments to improve staffing. Both sides now disagree over whether those promises have been fully honored, setting the stage for the current confrontation.
