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Nearly 16,000 members of the New York State Nurses Association at five different hospitals across New York City could go on strike on Jan. 12 if the union doesn’t reach agreements with management, as the union’s contracts expired at the end of 2025.
Key points in negotiations include safe staffing standards for nurses, workplace violence protections, healthcare benefits for frontline nurses, wages, safeguards on the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare and protections for healthcare services for the vulnerable.
NYSNA nurses delivered 10-day strike notices to 12 hospitals on Jan. 2 after a months-long bargaining campaign. The union announced on Dec. 22 that thousands of members voted to authorize a strike by a margin of 97 percent.
However, the number of hospitals that could face striking nurses shrank to five when the union announced “major progress” at seven safety-net hospitals in Brooklyn and Staten Island on Jan. 6 and the NYSNA nurses who work in those hospitals rescinded their 10-day strike notices. The union said management at those hospitals agreed to maintain and pay for healthcare benefits for frontline nurses.
The union contrasted the progress made in these negotiations with the five hospitals where it is still set to strike, which it called the city’s “wealthiest private hospitals.” In a statement, NYSNA leadership said those hospitals are still pushing for cuts to healthcare and safe staffing while refusing to agree to workplace violence protections.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said in a news release on Jan. 6 that the city’s safety-net hospitals are “taking significant steps toward settling fiscally responsible contracts that protect nurses” while “ rich private hospitals like Montefiore, Mount Sinai, and NewYork-Presbyterian continue to throw away hundreds of millions of dollars to fight against frontline nurses.”
Hagans said at a Dec. 22 press conference that the union does not take striking lightly.
“Striking is always a last resort, but we are prepared to strike if our bosses give us no other option,” she said.
‘Intended to disrupt patient care’
Spokespersons at NewYork-Presbyterian and Mount Sinai, two of the hospitals where NYSNA nurses could still strike, on Jan. 2 separately characterized a possible strike as nurses abandoning patients.
“NYSNA's threatened strike is intended to disrupt patient care across the city,” said a spokesperson for NewYork-Presbyterian. “We have taken the necessary steps to ensure that our patients will continue to receive safe, exceptional care.
After repeated attempts, the Chief was unable to reach New York City Hall for comment about a possible NYSNA strike.
Shortly after winning the mayoral general election, then Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani said in a statement on Nov. 18 that he stood with NYSNA nurses in their “fight for a contract that reflects their value to our city.”
“NYSNA nurses are demanding what every New Yorker deserves: safe staffing, fair pay, and hospitals that put patient care first,” Mamdani said.
The union endorsed Mamdani, a democratic socialist who has pledged to work closely with the city’s unions, in late June.
More than 1,000 nurses deliver strike notices on Long Island
Just outside New York City on Long Island, more than 1,000 NYSNA members at three Northwell Health hospitals – Northwell/Huntington, Northwell/Plainview and Northwell/Syosset – also delivered 10-day strike notices on Jan. 2.
Similar to New York City nurses, the Northwell NYSNA nurses have been bargaining for months for contracts that ensure healthcare benefits for frontline nurses and “safe staffing ratios.”
In a news release on Jan. 2, the union said that Northwell, New York’s largest healthcare provider and private employer, has responded to contract negotiations with “delay tactics and proposals to make staffing levels less safe for Long Island patients” and has “unilaterally changed nurses’ access to union reps and created a coercive employee handbook which threatens discipline for union activity.”
A spokesperson for Northwell told The Chief in a statement that it is disappointed by NYSNA’s strike notice. Still, it remains committed to negotiating a “fair and sustainable contract” that supports its nurses and maintains high-quality care.
“We value our dedicated nursing team and the exceptional service they provide,” said the Northwell spokesperson. “Our aim is to reach a fair agreement, and we will continue to engage in good faith negotiations with NYSNA. Should a strike occur, our priority will always be patient safety and care. Huntington, Plainview and Syosset Hospitals will remain fully operational, ensuring uninterrupted, superior service for our patients.”
Hagans, NYSNA’s president, said in a news release that she’s proud of the Long Island nurses who “continue to go up against the largest private employer and healthcare system in New York state to protect patient care.”
“It’s not easy. But nurses have shown that they’re determined and that they won’t stop until they get the fair contracts that nurses and patients deserve,” she said.
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