NYC Nurses Return to Bargaining Table After 10-Day Historic Strike

Thousands of New York City nurses announced plans Thursday to resume contract negotiations with three major hospital systems after reaching the tenth day of what has become the largest nursing strike in city history.

Striking New York City nurses are set to return to the bargaining table Thursday, the New York State Nurses Association said, with the announcement coming on the 10th day of the strike. NYSNA nurses at Montefiore, Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside and West, and NewYork-Presbyterian will resume bargaining after being urged back to the negotiating table by Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani, with nurses standing ready to bargain to reach fair contracts and plans to bargain daily with the help of mediators.

On Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Mayor Zohran Mamdani brought boxes of doughnuts to striking nurses outside Mount Sinai West, encouraging the union and the three hospital systems involved to get back to the bargaining table. The intervention by high-profile political figures underscores the significance of the labor dispute for New York City's health care system and broader labor movement.

## A Historic Work Stoppage

Roughly 15,000 nurses went on strike at multiple campuses operated by three private, nonprofit hospital systems on Jan. 12. It would be the biggest nurse strike in New York City history, with the hospitals including ones operated by Mount Sinai, New York-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia University Medical Center and Montefiore. The nurses' strike is the largest work stoppage of its kind in city history, having already surpassed the length of a smaller, three-day strike in 2023 by nurses at many of the same facilities.

The historic nurses' strike has gained the support of other labor unions as it reached a 10th day on Wednesday. The striking nurses have been getting support from other city unions, including the Uniformed Firefighters Association, which represents FDNY members, who joined picket lines Thursday. This unprecedented show of solidarity reflects the broader concerns within organized labor about working conditions across New York's health care sector.

## Key Demands at the Negotiating Table

Unionized nurses at New York-Presbyterian, Mount Sinai, and Montefiore are asking for higher pay, an increase in staff to manage patients, fully funded benefits and better workplace protections against violence for nurses. The 15,000 nurses on strike are demanding better pay, increased staffing, fully funded benefits, and better protections against workplace violence.

According to NYSNA, sticking points in negotiations include management's failure to guarantee nurses' healthcare benefits, management's attempt to roll back safe staffing standards that nurses won three years ago, and management's refusal to agree to protections from workplace violence. These core issues have proven difficult for both sides to resolve, with hospital administrators and the union remaining significantly apart on compensation and staffing level requirements.

One nurse said she had been kicked to the ribs, spit on, pushed, punched, and sexually assaulted, and offered photos showing injuries from workplace violence over 23 years at Mount Sinai Morningside emergency department. Such accounts underscore the urgency nurses place on securing additional workplace protections during contract negotiations.

## Hospital Response and Operational Status

Negotiators for major New York City hospital systems and the state nurses union returned to the bargaining table as the city's largest nurses strike stretched into its fifth day, with Mount Sinai Health holding bargaining sessions for the first time since the strike started, but Montefiore and NewYork-Presbyterian did not meet on Friday.

Mount Sinai Health System said the union's proposals "would cost $1.6 billion over three years just at The Mount Sinai Hospital, raising average nurse pay to close to $250,000." NewYork-Presbyterian representatives have called NYSNA's demands "unreasonable." The hospitals have attempted to maintain operations through alternative staffing arrangements while negotiations continue.

Mount Sinai representatives said they have extended contracts for agency nurses and are onboarding additional agency nurses focused on specialty areas to ensure workforce availability while working toward a deal. However, nurses say they have no plans on getting off the picket line until a fair contract is on the table, even as they picket in brutally cold temperatures.

## Financial Resources and Broader Context

As of September 2025, NewYork-Presbyterian, Montefiore and Mount Sinai had on hand twice as much cash and cash equivalents as they had in 2017, even adjusting for inflation, holding onto over $1.6 billion dollars. This financial data has become central to the nurses' argument that hospitals have the resources to meet contract demands without compromising patient care.

NYSNA has received the support of numerous labor organizations and elected officials including Mayor Zohran Mamdani, NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, and the borough presidents from Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. The show of political support from top city officials indicates that the strike has resonated as a significant labor and public health issue beyond the immediate health care sector.

As negotiations resume Thursday, both sides face mounting pressure to reach a resolution. Nurses will continue to picket and strike until tentative agreements are reached with the hospitals, according to NYSNA. The outcome of these talks will likely shape labor relations in New York's health care industry for years to come, with implications extending far beyond the three hospital systems currently at the negotiating table.