Nurses Settle With Two Hospitals, Strike Continues Against Third

The New York State Nurses Association said it had reached an accord with two of the hospital groups, Mount Sinai and Montefiore but there was still no settlement with New York-Presbyterian as we headed to press on Feb. 9.

That means the long and bitter strike by 15,000 nurses that began on Jan. 12 is over for about 10,500 workers who were striking at Montefiore and Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside and Mount Sinai West, according to the NYSNA.

“For four weeks, nearly 15,000 NYSNA members held the line in the cold and in the snow for safe patient care,” NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said in a statement. “Now, nurses at Montefiore and Mount Sinai systems are heading back to the bedside with our heads held high after winning fair tentative contracts that maintain enforceable safe staffing ratios, improve protections from workplace violence, and maintain health benefits with no additional out-of-pocket costs for frontline nurses.”

Nurses at Montefiore and Mount Sinai hospitals must still vote later this week on whether to ratify the tentative agreement, the union said. Picket lines continued outside New York-Presbyterian, where about 4,200 workers remained on strike at press time.

While wage hikes were part of the protest, nurses said that protection of nurses came to the fore as an issue after a November, 13, 2025 when police shot dead a 20 year old man who was threatening to “shoot up a hospital.” The hospital was near a Mount Sinai hospital.

The strike took a more militant turn on Feb. 5 when 13 nurses were arrested after they refused orders by the NYPD to disperse and linked arms blocking access to the Greater New York Hospitals Association HQ.

On Friday, February 6, roughly 100 people picketed outside Mount Sinai West between West 58th and 59th Streets from noon until about 6 p.m., in coordinated actions by the NYC Democratic Socialists of America and the union.

The strike had begun on Jan. 12 and drew supporters including Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Senator Bernie Sanders, among other prominent politicians. Mamdani will now have to negotiate new contracts with nurses in public hospitals run by the city at a time when he is facing a crushing city budget deficit in the current fiscal year.

The three private hospitals were initially saying they could not meet the salary demands in light of the drastic cuts in federal health care funds enacted by the Trump Administration.

Donna Leano, an ICU nurse, joined colleagues at Mount Sinai on Feb. 6. “It was really disobedient,” she said of the previous day’s civil disobedience protests, “but they weren’t causing harm; they were blocking the entrance on 57th Street,” she said.

“It’s frustrating, but we have to keep this line and never give up. One win for one is a win for all.” She described the demonstrations as disciplined. “We stick together. We don’t break windows or cars. We’re professionals. We’re just fighting for a fair contract.”

Safe staffing was a recurring concern. Sasha Gavilanes, a nurse practitioner at Montefiore Moses Campus in the Bronx, said conditions inside hospitals drove her to rotate between strike sites.

“I feel safer striking here than working in the hospital,” she said. “We’re fighting for safer patient ratios, better patient care, fair living wages, and protections for staff safety.” Gavilanes recalled working in emergency rooms during COVID, isolated from her family. “My colleagues became my family. Many nurses risked their lives, and we still need protections.”

Moses Fallas, a labor and delivery nurse at the same campus, framed the strike as a matter of systemic stability.

“Protection of pensions, healthcare benefits, and safe nurse-to-patient ratios. Hospitals wanted to cut back benefits and staffing. We’re fighting to keep these intact,” he said. On replacement nurses brought in during the strike, he added, “Some may be underqualified or unaware of the issues. Nurses with a home base understand the need for safe staffing and wouldn’t cross the line.”

Unlike a strike three years ago that only lasted three days, Hospital officials this time around countered that the union’s proposals would amount to a roughly 40 percent pay increase, a figure they said was unaffordable.

The hospitals also pointed to federal cuts in healthcare funding that affect staffing budgets. But there had been some movement on health care benefits and heading into the final weekend leading to the settlement.

Mount Sinai said it had “remained committed to productive discussions with union representatives” and said it continued to prioritize patient safety across all units as the strike entered its fourth week.

The strike has also raised questions about technology in care. Leano said artificial intelligence in medication administration is still a point of negotiation. “Nurses want a real person administering meds; there are too many things that can go wrong with AI,” she said.

Retired pediatrician Dr. Steve Auerbach, affiliated with Physicians for a National Health Program, linked the strike to broader structural concerns.

“Hospitals misrepresent nurses’ demands to break unions. Healthcare coverage shouldn’t depend on employers. The New York Health Act would provide guaranteed, universal coverage for all residents and workers,” he said.

NewYork-Presbyterian, the hospital that had not settled by Feb. 9 emphasized it was continuing to negotiate in a statement to NY1 before the settlement with the other two hospitals was announced. “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 recognizes the challenging realities of today’s healthcare environment.”