NYSNA Update: February 20, 2026
Victory! NYP Nurses Reach Tentative Agreement After 6 Weeks on Strike!
After six long weeks, on Thurs. Feb. 19, nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian (NYP) reached tentative agreements that protect nurses and patients. For weeks, NYP dragged out the strike, refusing to come to the table while paying millions on replacement nurses, while NYSNA nurses stood out in the cold to demand better for their patients. While NYP tried to cut corners on patient care, nurses fought hard to allocate new positions to the areas they were most needed and maintained strong staffing enforcement language that holds employers accountable. Just last week, nurses won an almost $400,000 arbitration award after tracking NYP’s unsafe staffing levels for months, showing just how far NYP will go to delay and deny their staffing issues. Their new agreement will include language to help expedite these processes.
Along with their other private sector siblings, they won enforceable safe staffing standards, protected their benefits, and secured important protections against workplace violence. NYP nurses will vote today and Saturday, Feb. 21 and, if the agreement is ratified, will return to work early next week. “The wins of our private sector nurses will improve care for patients, and their perseverance and endurance have shown people worldwide the power of NYSNA nurses,” said NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN.
The media has been following the strike closely. Some of the highlights include Associated Press, The New York Daily News, New York Times, AMNY, The City, Crain’s, Fox 5, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, ABC7 and NY1.
To see more photos and highlights from the last few months, visit our Facebook page.
Nurses at The Brooklyn Hospital Center Demand Immediate Reinstatement of Health Coverage
On Thursday, Feb. 19, nurses at The Brooklyn Hospital Center held a powerful action, demanding immediate reinstatement of their health coverage. Their coverage was unjustly cut on Feb. 1 after the hospital failed to pay nurses’ health coverage for months. Nurses and their families have delayed important visits, from routine appointments to chemotherapy. They spoke about the challenging decisions they’ve had to make over the past three weeks and demanded that the hospital prioritize their health coverage over their exorbitant executive pay. Senator Jabari Brisport, Assembly Members Jo Anne Simon and Phara Souffrant Forrest, City Council Member Crystal Hudson and NYSNA President Nancy Hagans joined nurses at the hospital and sent management a strong message. NYSNA nurses will continue to speak out until they get the coverage they deserve! NY1, News 12, and Brooklyn Eagle covered the action.
Save the Date! Lobby Day 2026
Save the date for NYSNA Lobby Day on Tuesday, March 10. NYSNA members know that the fight for safe staffing, health equity and more requires allies. That’s why, every year, we meet elected officials in Albany to share our goals and ask them to join our fight. Sign up here and share this flyer (with CE information) with your union siblings to make sure nurses' voices are heard in Albany!
This year, we will push for an equitable budget and needed changes in Albany to support the hospitals, workers and communities that need it the most. This will include pushing legislators to pass the New York Health Act, demanding increased state revenue for healthcare by taxing the rich, increasing reimbursement rates for safety net providers, and protecting immigrant New Yorkers’ access to healthcare. We will also continue to fight for the protection of the nursing practice from outsourcing and temporary gigs and for artificial intelligence regulations, safe staffing law enforcement, fixing of Tier 6 public sector pension benefits, and improved recruitment and retention of nurses throughout the state.