Nearly 15,000 nurses across New York City are now on strike as of Monday morning after no agreement was reached ahead of the deadline for contract negotiations.
It is the largest nurses’ strike in NYC’s history.
The hospital locations impacted by the strike include Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside, Mount Sinai West, Montefiore Hospital and New York Presbyterian Hospital.
Their contract expired on December 31. The union says it wants higher pay, an increase in staff to manage patients, fully funded benefits and better workplace protections against violence for its members.
At 6 a.m. Monday, waves of nurses walked off the job — raising their voices in the dark, banging drums and blowing whistles.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani stood with striking nurses, calling their fight a battle for dignity, fairness and the future of the city’s health care system.
Mamdani said the strike is about who benefits from the health care system.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani spoke at a protest by nurses at a number of hospitals in New York City.
“There is no shortage of wealth in the healthcare industry,” he said. “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.”
He said 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.”
The mayor said the city is working to protect both patients and health care workers during the strike. He urged hospital executives and union leaders to return to the bargaining table immediately.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul had already declared a state of emergency, saying that a strike “could jeopardize the lives of thousands of New Yorkers and patients.”
Regardless of the strike, all hospitals stressed that they will remain open.
Hospitals like Mount Sinai said they have hired more than 1,000 agency nurses to help combat disruptions to care.
“The important piece to be mindful of is that we have spent lots of time bringing in additional support to make sure that responsible care of patients remains a priority,” said Dr. Brendan Carr.
Meanwhile, all three Northwell hospitals on Long Island have already reached an agreement to avert a strike.
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