Largest Nurses Strike in NYC, Could be the Longest?
“Nurses in the emergency department are getting beaten, and we’re trying to make sure that not only do we fight for our patients, but we fight for our staff.”
By Fahima Degia
Bronx Voice
January 21, 2026
NEW YORK, NY - Contract negotiations between New York City’s private sector hospitals and tens of thousands of nurses remain partially unresolved this week, even as some systems have reached last minute deals, averting a broader walkout that could have become the largest nurse strike in the city’s history. Bronx nurses at Montefiore Medical Center, Mount Sinai and New York Presbyterian however, remain on the picket line.
Today, the Nurses Union announced that representatives were heading back to the negotiation table with officials from Montefiore, Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside and West, and NewYork-Presbyterian.
In a statement the union said, “Nurses stand ready to bargain to reach fair contracts and end the strike. With continued support of mediators, nurses plan on bargaining daily to settle fair contracts that protect patient and nurse safety. Nurses will continue to picket and strike until tentative agreements are reached with the hospitals.”
Contracts covering roughly 20,000 nurses at 12 New York City hospitals expired just after midnight on January 1. While negotiations initially stalled across multiple systems, some hospitals have since reached tentative agreements with the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), the union representing the workers.
Nurses at three Northwell Health hospitals on Long Island reached tentative contract agreements ahead of a planned strike deadline, averting a walkout at those facilities. Union officials said the deals included wage increases and staffing provisions and were ratified by members.
Despite those settlements, talks with several major hospital systems, including Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, Mount Sinai, and NewYork-Presbyterian, failed to produce agreements by the deadline, leading thousands of nurses to walk off the job.
As of this week, NYSNA said negotiations are continuing daily, but nurses at Montefiore remain on strike.
“This is not about walking out,” the union said in a press statement. “It’s about protecting patient care and nurse safety.”
Bronx Nurses Already on Strike
At Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, nurses say conditions inside the hospital left them with no choice but to strike.
“We have been out here since Monday at 7 a.m., when our strike began,” said Marie Kiffin, an emergency department nurse at Montefiore, speaking during a protest outside the hospital earlier this week.
Nurses on the picket line say overcrowding, hallway beds, and violence in the emergency department have become routine and dangerous.
“If you’ve ever had the chance to go into the emergency room, patients are basically piled up on top of each other trying to get the care that they deserve,” Kiffin said. “Nurses in the emergency department are getting beaten, and we’re trying to make sure that not only do we fight for our patients, but we fight for our staff.”
Another Montefiore nurse and executive committee member with NYSNA said the strike has will continue until conditions change.
“We’re out here for safe staffing, ratios, to end hallway patients, and ED overcrowding,” said Biana Maynard, an executive member of the union committee. “We will be out here as long as we need to be.
‘Patients Waiting Two, Three Days’
Multiple nurses described emergency department patients waiting days for inpatient beds, only to be placed in hallways.
“I work in the ED,” said Marina Diaz-Fonseca, a Bronx-born nurse who has been on the picket line since Monday. “Having patients be extremely upset that they’re waiting two, three days to get a bed upstairs, and then when they get that bed, it’s a hallway.”
Nurses said some hallway patients require oxygen, mobility assistance, or frequent bathroom access, these needs are difficult to meet without private rooms.
“How are you going to have a patient in the hallway that’s on oxygen?” Diaz-Fonseca said. “There’s no restroom in the hallway. So where are they actually relieving themselves? It’s inhumane.”
For many nurses, the strike is deeply personal.
“I grew up here. Born and raised in the Bronx,” Diaz-Fonseca said. “This is my community, and I want them to be treated fairly.”
Safety at the Center of Negotiations
Union officials say the primary sticking points in negotiations are not wages, but patient safety measures that nurses argue are essential in already overburdened hospitals.
Among the top issues is safe staffing. NYSNA says some of the city’s wealthiest hospital systems, including Mount Sinai, Montefiore, and NewYork-Presbyterian are seeking to weaken staffing standards secured after a major nurses strike in 2023 involving roughly 7,000 workers.
That strike resulted in enforceable staffing ratios, which nurses say reduced burnout and improved patient outcomes. NYSNA says current proposals would roll back enforcement and leave nurses responsible for more patients per shift.
Hospitals have also declined to agree to expanded workplace violence protections, according to the union. The issue has taken on added urgency following a November active shooter incident outside Mount Sinai’s emergency department and a new state law signed by Governor Kathy Hochul in December aimed at improving safety for healthcare workers.
Another unresolved issue is healthcare coverage for nurses themselves. NYSNA says hospitals have refused to guarantee benefits, even as nurses face high rates of workplace injury and illness.
In negotiations, union leaders say hospital management presented nurses with a choice: protect safe staffing, maintain healthcare benefits, or receive wage increases, but not all three.
Nurses say that is not a compromise they are willing to accept.
Hospital Response and ‘Shame’ Chants
Nurses on the picket line said they have been frustrated by what they describe as a lack of communication from hospital leadership since the strike began.
“Basically like crickets,” Kiffin said. “We haven’t heard a word.”
Maynard said striking workers have been locked out of the hospital entirely.
“They’re treating us like criminals,” Maynard said. “We’re also patients here. A lot of us need to go in to get our prescriptions, and we’re not allowed.”
During protests, nurses have repeatedly chanted “shame” as temporary replacement nurses enter the hospital.
“We’re yelling shame because those are travelers that are coming in to try to take our jobs,” Kiffin said. “They don’t care about the community. They don’t care about the patients.”
NYSNA alleges hospitals are preparing to spend nearly $100 million per week on temporary replacement nurses if the strike expands. Hospital systems have said they are taking steps to ensure continuity of care.
Hospital Finances Under Scrutiny
Hospital administrators have argued that union demands are financially unrealistic. NYSNA disputes that claim, citing public financial records.
According to IRS Form 990 filings, the CEOs of NewYork-Presbyterian, Mount Sinai, and Montefiore increased their total compensation by more than 54 percent between 2020 and 2023. In 2023, NewYork-Presbyterian CEO Steve Corwin earned $14.6 million — more than $40,000 per day.
Union leaders say those figures contrast sharply with claims that hospitals cannot afford to meet nurses’ demands.
What Comes Next
While some hospital systems have reached agreements, nurses at Montefiore and other major hospitals in New York City remain on strike as negotiations continue.
Union leaders say they remain at the bargaining table and are calling on hospital management to return with proposals that prioritize patient safety and working conditions.
For Bronx nurses, the message remains focused on the community they serve.
“We’re out here for them,” Diaz-Fonseca said. “This is for our patients. Bronx patients matter.”
“This is about patient care,” the union said. “And we are prepared to do whatever it takes to protect it.”
Comments
Post a Comment