NYC nurses strike for third day as hospital talks remain stalled

The stoppage — which the Associated Press described as the largest nursing strike New York City has seen in decades — has forced the affected hospital systems to cancel scheduled surgeries, transfer patients from specialized units and bring in thousands of temporary contract nurses, all during the busy flu season.

About 15,000 nurses under the New York State Nurses Association remained on strike Wednesday at three New York City hospital systems, entering a third consecutive day of walkout with no formal negotiations held and union leaders accusing hospital administrators of misrepresenting their contract demands.

The nurses walked off the job Monday morning at multiple campuses of Mount Sinai, Montefiore and NewYork-Presbyterian — the city’s largest private, nonprofit hospital systems — over demands centered on safe staffing ratios, healthcare protections and measures to address workplace violence. None of the three systems had held talks with union negotiators since the Sunday before the strike began. NewYork-Presbyterian was the only system to schedule new negotiations, with a spokesperson saying administrators planned to meet with union counterparts Thursday evening.

The stoppage, which the Associated Press described as the largest nursing strike New York City has seen in decades, has forced the affected systems to cancel scheduled surgeries, transfer patients from specialized units and bring in thousands of temporary contract nurses — all during the busy flu season.

State of talks

The union and hospital systems have traded accusations over who bears responsibility for the failure to negotiate.

Union leaders held a rally Wednesday at Montefiore’s Bronx campus, where they accused hospital administrators of mischaracterizing their contract proposals. The union and the hospitals have been bargaining independently at each medical center since the sides last met the Sunday before the walkout.

Hospital officials have said they are prepared to offer pay increases but that the union’s salary demands are “extreme” and “exorbitant.”

What nurses are seeking

The New York State Nurses Association said its top priorities are healthcare coverage, safe staffing and workplace violence protections.

Erika Perrotta, an emergency room nurse at Montefiore, said at Wednesday’s rally that patients at the Bronx hospital’s ER are frequently left in the hallways because there are no available rooms, making it hard for nurses to move quickly through the area. “It’s unacceptable,” she told the crowd in front of the hospital.

Phiona Hunnigan-McFarlane, also a nurse at Montefiore, said she was punched to the ground by a patient. She said her injuries were severe enough that her family had to care for her while she was unable to work for six months.

What hospitals are saying

The hospitals say they are willing to raise pay but that the union’s salary proposals are too costly. Unionized nurses’ salaries currently average around $163,000 a year at the three systems, according to the Associated Press. Montefiore said the union’s proposal would raise that figure to $220,000 in three years; Mount Sinai said its counterpart proposal would push it to nearly $250,000.

On workplace safety, Montefiore said its security protocol is “best-in-class” and includes weapons detection systems, armed New York City police officers stationed around-the-clock, internal security personnel and wearable panic buttons issued to nurses.

Montefiore also accused the union of proposing a provision that would prevent nurses from being fired even if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job. Union officials responded Wednesday, saying the hospital was “stigmatizing” those dealing with substance abuse issues while “blatantly mischaracterizing” a “non-controversial measure” already being implemented around the state.

Mount Sinai reported that an increasing share of its unionized nurses had chosen to continue working rather than join the picket line — 23% on Wednesday, up from 20% on Tuesday.

Patient impact

City officials had raised no concerns about patient care through Wednesday. Hospitals urged patients not to avoid seeking care, saying they had brought in thousands of temporary contract nurses to cover regular staff shifts and had committed to keeping those nurses on through at least next week.

Ruth Villanueva, a 75-year-old Bronx resident leaving Montefiore on Wednesday, said her visit had proceeded without incident. “They’re still the same. Nothing that is coming out different,” she said, adding that she believed nurses deserved better pay.

Mount Sinai said its emergency department had managed a 25% increase in patient registrations since the strike began. The Greater New York Hospital Association, an industry group, said hospitals had canceled scheduled surgeries, transferred patients from more specialized units and increased discharges in the days before the walkout to reduce patient volumes in anticipation of reduced staffing.

Background

Nurses last struck in 2023 at Mount Sinai and Montefiore. That walkout also lasted three days and ended with a contract raising pay 19% over three years. The pact included provisions addressing staffing and workload concerns, though the union said the hospitals are seeking to walk back those guarantees in the current negotiations.

Not every hospital under the three affected systems is involved in the current strike. Other private hospital systems in New York City reached tentative agreements with the union before the walkout. City-run public hospitals are not affected.