Nearly 15,000 nurses walked off the job across New York City on Monday, launching the largest nurses’ strike in the city’s history after contract talks collapsed with three of its biggest private hospital systems.
The early-morning walkout hit Mount Sinai, Montefiore and NewYork-Presbyterian, throwing renewed scrutiny on staffing levels, workplace safety and healthcare benefits at some of the wealthiest hospitals in the country.
“After months of bargaining, management refused to make meaningful progress on core issues that nurses have been fighting for: safe staffing for patients, healthcare benefits for nurses, and workplace violence protections,” the New York State Nursing Association said in a statement. “Management at the richest hospitals in New York City are threatening to discontinue or radically cut nurses’ health benefits,” it added.
According to ProPublica’s nonprofit tracker, NewYork-Presbyterian reported a net income of $547m in 2024, while Mount Sinai posted $114m and Montefiore $288.62m. All three operate as nonprofit institutions.
Striking nurses say hospital executives are threatening to slash health benefits and weaken staffing standards. The union also accuses management of dragging its feet on protections against workplace violence. Al Jazeera could not independently verify those claims.
The dispute revives battles that flared during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, New York state passed a law requiring hospitals to form staffing committees and set minimum nurse-to-patient ratios, including a one-to-two ratio in critical care units.
“You can’t divorce this from the experience of COVID in New York,” Lindsey Boylan, a community activist at a picket line, told Al Jazeera. “COVID tested our healthcare system and tested nurses in particular.”
After a three-day strike in 2023, nurses forced hospitals through arbitration to enforce those staffing standards across all units. The union now says hospitals are backsliding.
Safety fears add urgency
Union leaders say demands also include stronger safeguards after a spate of violent incidents, including an active shooter at a Mount Sinai facility in November and a fatal shooting last week at a NewYork-Presbyterian hospital in Brooklyn. Among the proposals: installing metal detectors at hospital entrances.
Mount Sinai has also allegedly disciplined nurses who raised concerns about union-busting, prompting a complaint to the National Labor Relations Board in October.
NewYork-Presbyterian said it remains open to talks.
“We’re ready to keep negotiating a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play, and also recognises the challenging realities of today’s healthcare environment,” a hospital spokesperson said, adding that management had proposed “significant wage increases”.
The union countered that the offer included $4,500 lump-sum payments that could be applied to benefits, staffing or wages. Mount Sinai and Montefiore did not respond to requests for comment.
The strike comes during a severe flu season, with hospitalisations recently hitting record highs. In late December, nearly 9 percent of emergency room visits were flu-related, according to city data.
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