Nurses represented by the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) at NewYork-Presbyterian (NYP) have ended New York City’s longest nurse strike after 41 days, with the approval of a new three-year contract.
The strike, which began on January 12, brought some 15,000 nurses out to picket against Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside and West, Montefiore Medical Center, and NewYork-Presbyterian. Nurses said they wanted enforceable staffing ratios, improved workplace safety, fair wages, and protection of health benefits.
Contract negotiations between NYSNA and 12 of the city’s private hospitals began in September 2025. By late December, nurses at several hospitals, including BronxCare, Brooklyn Hospital, Flushing Hospital, Interfaith Medical Center, Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, Maimonides, Montefiore, Mount Sinai, NewYork-Presbyterian, Richmond University, and Wyckoff Heights, voted to issue 10-day strike notices, warning that they would go on strike if they were unable to reach an agreement on a new labor contract.
NYSNA’s main demands included implementing enforceable safe staffing standards, doing something about persistent nursing shortages and heavy workloads for on-the-job nurses, and guaranteeing that patient care was not compromised by preventing overflow patients from being placed in hallways. The nurses also wanted better workplace safety measures put in place in light of more incidents in hospitals, wage increases of 12% to 19% over three years, and protection of their health insurance and pension plans. They also pushed for better pandemic safety protocols and establishment of a formal body to influence work conditions.
Negotiations between NYSNA and hospital management were contentious, with union representatives criticizing the use of temporary travel nurses during the strike, claiming it aimed to undermine solidarity. Hospital administrators argued that staffing ratios and pay would impose unsustainable costs and voiced concerns about patient safety during the work stoppage.
Despite these tensions, the breakthrough came late last week, when NYSNA nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian voted by a decisive margin — 93% in favor — to ratify the new contract. The ratification followed similar votes at other major hospitals, with Mount Sinai’s nurses approving their contract by 87% and Montefiore’s by 86%.
The agreement includes enforceable safe staffing standards, increased nurse hiring, protection of health benefits, enhanced workplace safety provisions, safeguards for immigrant patients and nurses, and — for the first time — contractual language addressing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare. Over the life of the agreement, nurses will see salary increases exceeding 12%.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said the contract agreement was historic for both the union and the city’s communities: “This is a proud moment for our union. Fifteen thousand NYSNA nurses went out on strike, and finally all 15,000 will be returning to the bedside. We are so happy with the wins we achieved, and now the fight to enforce these contracts and hold our employers accountable begins. NYSNA nurses showed what it means to advocate for patients, and this moment will go down in history as a win for our communities in the fight for healthcare justice, and for the labor movement.”