The nurses’ union at a major New York City hospital went on strike on the 12th. They went on strike as announced after their demands for wage increases, staffing increases, improved treatment, and enhanced nurse safety were not met.
The New York State Nurses Association, the state’s nurses’ union, declared a breakdown in negotiations with management at midnight and began the strike at 6 a.m. This strike was joined by nurses from five major hospitals under three New York City healthcare systems: New York-Presbyterian/Columbia Hospital in Manhattan, Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, the Main Campus of Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, and two hospitals under the Mount Sinai system. With a staggering 150,000 employees, it’s the largest nursing strike in history.
Montefiore Hospital officials blamed the union for the strike, stating, “The union’s proposal for a 40% wage increase is reckless.” They added that the hospital claims that the agreement reached three years ago has raised the minimum wage for nurses by nearly 20% over the past three years, with starting salaries exceeding $100,000 for new nurses and an average annual salary of $165,000 for experienced nurses.
According to New York State, which mediates labor-management negotiations, nurses from 12 private hospitals in the state have been negotiating with hospitals since last year, and agreements were reached at most hospitals last week. However, negotiations with five hospitals under the three major healthcare systems have broken down.
New York Governor Kathy Hokule declared a state of emergency on the 9th, citing the nursing workforce shortage at these hospitals in anticipation of a possible strike by the New York City nurses’ union.
Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani expressed his support for the striking nurses by participating in a picket protest outside New York-Presbyterian/Columbia Hospital.
Mayor Mamdani emphasized, “Nurses who save lives should not be asked to take pay cuts, cut benefits, or accept excessive workloads. Their value is not negotiable.”