The strike involving nearly 15,000 nurses at hospitals in New York City reached its third day Jan. 14.
Five things to know:
1. Members of the New York State Nurses Association went on strike Jan. 12 at several hospitals within Montefiore Health System, Mount Sinai Health System and NewYork-Presbyterian. The union has been in negotiations with the systems for months on new contracts covering safe staffing, healthcare benefits and workplace violence protections, according to a Jan. 14 union news release. Previous contracts expired Dec. 31.
2. The union has not met with the hospitals to negotiate a new contract since Jan. 11, before the strike began, CBS News reported Jan. 14.
“Nurses are ready to settle a fair contract that prioritizes safety,” the union said in its news release. “However, management has responded with delaying progress, silencing vocal patient advocates, and smearing nurses publicly.”
3. The hospitals have called the union’s proposals for raises “unrealistic.”
“Our nurses are among the highest paid in the city, and we are prepared to offer wage increases, but NYSNA’s latest proposal for an approximately 25% wage increase would amount to more than $2 billion over the next three years, which is unrealistic,” a NewYork-Presbyterian said in a statement shared with Becker’s.
Mount Sinai also characterized the proposals as unreasonable.
“Unfortunately, NYSNA has yet to provide an offer that could be considered reasonable, instead sticking to proposals that would cost $1.6 billion over three years just at The Mount Sinai Hospital, raising average nurse pay to close to $250,000, which is before factoring in the contributions we make to benefits,” a Mount Sinai spokesperson said in a statement shared with Becker’s.
Meanwhile, the union has highlighted the systems’ executive pay and profits.
“As of September 2025, these three hospitals had on hand twice as much cash and cash equivalents as they had in 2017, even adjusting for inflation, holding onto over $1.6 billion dollars, showing that the safe staffing ratios nurses won years ago allowed them to continue to rake in profits,” the union said.
4. The hospitals have emphasized that patient care remains their top priority. In a Jan. 12 letter to staff shared with Becker’s, Montefiore Einstein President and CEO Philip Ozuah, MD, PhD, said the system will not turn its back on the community or abandon patients.
“Our Montefiore Einstein colleagues have rallied as a team to ensure the continued provision of the highest quality of care for all who seek us out at their most vulnerable,” Dr. Ozuah said. “We have not canceled even one patient’s access to care.”
Mount Sinai said 20% of scheduled nurses reported to work Jan. 12, with similar numbers on Jan. 13. A spokesperson added that the system has committed additional funds to retain qualified agency nurses through at least the following week.
5. Union members also went on strike three years ago, with about 7,000 nurses at two hospitals walking off the job in January 2023 for three days. The union represents 42,000 members across New York and is affiliated with National Nurses United, which has more than 225,000 members nationwide.
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