New York City nurses are striking for a fourth day Thursday, with both sides appearing to brace for a prolonged walkout.
None of the three major hospital systems affected by the strike met with union negotiators Wednesday, though one said it plans to sit down with nurses later Thursday.
Picketing nurses instead held a rally at a Bronx hospital, where union leaders accused hospital administrators of mischaracterizing their contract demands.
Meanwhile, hospital systems said they have committed to keeping the temporary nurses hired to fill staffing gaps at least through next week.
Here’s what you need to know about the largest nursing strike the city has seen in decades:
Who’s walking out?
Roughly 15,000 nurses unionized under the New York State Nurses Association went on strike Monday morning at multiple campuses of three private, nonprofit hospital systems — Mount Sinai, Montefiore and NewYork-Presbyterian.
Hospital officials have suggested unionized nurses are not fully unified. Mount Sinai said an increasing number of nurses have opted to continue working rather than join the picket line, rising from about 20% Tuesday to 23% Wednesday.
Not every hospital run by the three systems is affected. Other private hospital systems reached tentative agreements with the union, averting walkouts, and city-run public hospitals are not impacted.
Where do negotiations stand?
A spokesperson for NewYork-Presbyterian said hospital administrators plan to meet with union negotiators Thursday evening.
The sides have not met since Sunday, before the strike began.
The union has accused hospitals of refusing to return to the bargaining table, while administrators have placed the blame on the nurses. Each hospital system is negotiating separately with the union.
What are nurses seeking?
The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the union says key issues include health care benefits, safe staffing levels and workplace violence.
Nurses say emergency rooms are overcrowded, workloads are unmanageable and hospitals need stronger security measures to protect patients and staff.
Erika Perrotta, an emergency room nurse at Montefiore, said at Wednesday’s rally that patients are often left in hallways because there are no available rooms, making it difficult for nurses to move quickly.
“It’s unacceptable,” she told the crowd.
Phiona Hunnigan-McFarlane, another Montefiore nurse, said she was punched to the ground by a troubled patient, suffering injuries that forced her out of work for six months.
What are the hospitals saying?
Hospital systems say they are willing to offer raises but describe the union’s wage demands as too costly, calling them “extreme” and “exorbitant.”
Montefiore said the union’s proposal would raise the average nurse’s salary to $220,000 within three years, while Mount Sinai said it would approach $250,000. Nurses’ salaries currently average about $163,000 annually across the three systems.
Responding to security concerns raised at the rally, Montefiore said its protocols are “best-in-class,” citing weapons detection systems, armed NYPD officers, internal security staff and wearable panic buttons for nurses.
Montefiore has also criticized a union proposal it says would prevent nurses from being fired even if they are impaired by drugs or alcohol while on duty. Union officials countered that the hospital is stigmatizing nurses with substance use disorders and mischaracterizing a proposal already adopted at other hospitals statewide.
How are patients being impacted?
City officials say they have not seen major disruptions to patient care so far.
Hospitals have urged patients not to avoid care during the strike, noting they have hired thousands of temporary nurses to cover shifts.
Ruth Villanueva, 75, was among patients leaving Montefiore’s Bronx hospital Wednesday. She said her visit appeared normal and voiced support for nurses seeking better pay.
“They’re still the same. Nothing that is coming out different,” she said.
Mount Sinai said its emergency department has handled a 25% increase in patient registrations during the early days of the strike, which coincided with a busy flu season.
The Greater New York Hospital Association said hospitals canceled scheduled surgeries, transferred patients and increased discharges ahead of the strike to reduce patient volume.
When was the last nurses’ strike?
Nurses last went on strike in 2023, when walkouts at Mount Sinai and Montefiore lasted three days.
That strike resulted in a contract raising pay 19% over three years and included staffing and workload protections — provisions the union says hospitals are now trying to roll back.