Nearly 16,000 nurses across New York City are set to go on strike Monday after contract talks broke down over better pay and workplace safety, in what is expected to be one of the largest nurses’ strikes in the city’s history.
“Unfortunately, greedy hospital executives have decided to put profits above safe patient care and force nurses out on strike when we would rather be at the bedsides of our patients,” Nancy Hagans, the association’s president, said in a statement early on Monday.
“Hospital management refuses to address our most important issues — patient and nurse safety.”
The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) confirmed they will be walking out of Mount Sinai starting at 6 a.m. local time on Monday. NYC’s competing academic hospitals Montefiore and NY Presbyterian will also find nurses on the picket line. Their contract expired on Dec. 31, 2025. The union says it wants higher pay and safer working conditions for its members.
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a statement on Sunday, saying “The safety and wellbeing of this city is my top priority and ensuring New Yorkers have the care they need is critical, especially during flu season. The city’s Emergency Management team, FDNY, health department, public hospital system, and my senior leadership team are in constant communication and closely monitoring the situation. We are prepared for any and all scenarios, including a strike.
“No New Yorker should have to fear losing access to health care — and no nurse should be asked to accept less pay, fewer benefits or less dignity for doing lifesaving work. Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable. I’m relieved that most hospitals have reached an agreement and urge the remaining parties to stay at the table and reach a deal that both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”
Hospitals being affected by the strike include Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside, Mount Sinai West, Montefiore and New York Presbyterian Hospital.
Nurse practitioner Dania Munoz drew attention to safety issues within the profession. “Violence is on the rise in our institutions and in our units. Nurses at the bedside, and not just nurses, doctors as well. Techs are getting hurt by patients,” Munoz said. “We are strike ready on Monday, but we don’t want to be there. We need fair contracts now, because I know people are going to suffer, and that is not what we want. What we need is the protection and safety to do our jobs.”
The hospitals have stated that they will continue to function despite the strike. Representatives for Mount Sinai said in a statement, “We are prepared for a strike that could last an indefinite amount of time and have taken every step to best support our patients and employees in the event NYSNA forces our nurses to walk away from the bedside for the second time in three years.”
Meanwhile, all three Northwell hospitals on Long Island have already reached an agreement to avert a strike.