Commissioner of Consumer and Worker Protection to Visit Strike Line and Meet with Unlawfully Terminated NYSNA Nurses
**MEDIA ADVISORY FOR THURSDAY, JAN. 22 AT 1 PM**
Contact: Eliza Bates | press@nysna.org | 646-285-8491
Andrea Penman-Lomeli | press@nysna.org | 347-559-3169
COMMISSIONER OF CONSUMER AND WORKER PROTECTION TO VISIT STRIKE LINE AND MEET WITH UNLAWFULLY TERMINATED NYSNA NURSES
Mount Sinai labor and delivery nurses who were unlawfully terminated the night before nurses’ strike to meet with the new Commissioner of the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Sam Levine.
NYSNA nurses citywide return today to the bargaining table with Montefiore, Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside and West, and NewYork-Presbyterian ready to settle fair contracts.
New York, NY— On Thursday, Jan. 22, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) Commissioner Sam Levine will visit the strike line and meet with Mount Sinai labor and delivery nurses who were terminated via voicemail in an escalation of the hospital’s union-busting the night before the strike began.
DCWP is the nation’s leading municipal enforcement agency charged with delivering New Yorkers economic justice and an affordable city. DCWP leverages its authority to deliver real economic relief to New Yorkers and protect them from predatory, deceptive, and unfair practices that violate their consumer and workers’ rights.
After urging from the governor and mayor, NYSNA nurses have resumed bargaining with all four hospitals, and plan to bargain daily to settle fair contracts that protect patient and nurse safety. Nurses will continue to picket and strike until tentative agreements are reached with the hospitals. NYSNA continues to demand that the unlawful disciplines and terminations of Mount Sinai nurses be rescinded immediately.
WHAT: DCWP Commissioner Sam Levine Strike Line Visit
WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 22 at 1 PM
WHERE: Mount Sinai Hospital, 1468 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10029
Since before the strike began, Mount Sinai has responded to nurses’ demands for safety for nurses and patients with aggressive union-busting. In addition to the three labor and delivery nurses who were unlawfully terminated, Mount Sinai previously unfairly disciplined 14 vocal nurse leaders leading up to the strike. Some of those who were disciplined spoke to the press after an active shooter event, and others had spoken to colleagues about their union and contract negotiations. NYSNA filed several Unfair Labor Practice charges against Mount Sinai for retaliation.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, said, “The hospital’s attempts to intimidate nurses’ has clearly been unsuccessful. Nurses are out in force every day, continuing to fight for the safety of their patients and their colleagues. As a union, we will also fight these disciplines and terminations because Mount Sinai’s union-busting has no place in this city. We thank our city officials for taking workers’ rights violations seriously and joining us on the picket line because we are fighting for the health and safety of all New Yorkers.”
On Wednesday night, nurses, former patients and family members spoke out at candlelight vigil at NewYork-Presbyterian Children’s Hospital of New York (CHONY). Several mothers of children who had been hospitalized at CHONY gave powerful testimony of the excellent care and emotional support NYSNA nurses gave them through some of the most difficult times for their families.
Earlier this week, Senator Bernie Sanders and Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined nurses on the picket line, demanding an end to hospital greed and respect for the nurses who care for this city. Last weekend, in the spirit of Dr. King, nurses held a series of nonviolent direct actions and on Monday gathered with Rev. Al Sharpton and other civil rights leaders for a speak-out at Mount Sinai Morningside. Nurses held free community health screenings and celebrated with family activities, giving back to the community that has shown so much heartening solidarity since nurses went on strike on Jan. 12. Press is free to use photos and videos from NYSNA’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
On Thursday and throughout the week, strike lines will start at 8 AM at the following locations:
Mount Sinai Hospital, 1468 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10029
Mount Sinai Morningside, 1111 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10025
Mount Sinai West, 1000 Tenth Ave, New York, NY 10019
Montefiore Bronx Locations:
- Jack D. Weiler Campus, 1825 Eastchester Road, Bronx, NY 10461
- Montefiore Bronx, Henry & Lucy Moses Campus, 111 East 210th Street, Bronx, NY 10467
- Montefiore Bronx, Montefiore Hutchinson Medical Center, 1250 Waters Place, Bronx, NY
NewYork-Presbyterian locations:
- NewYork-Presbyterian Allen, 5141 Broadway, New York, NY 10034
- NewYork-Presbyterian CUMC, 177 Fort Washington Ave, New York, NY 10032
- NewYork-Presbyterian CHONY, 3959 Broadway, New York, NY 10032
Key sticking points in bargaining remain:
- Management’s threats to discontinue or radically cut nurses’ health benefits. These cuts would impact not just striking nurses at Mount Sinai, Mount Sinai Morningside and West and NewYork-Presbyterian, but nearly 44,000 people, including nurses and their families, around the state who are enrolled in NYSNA’s health benefit plan. The same wealthy hospitals that have jacked up prices for patients and they are now saying that it costs too much to cover healthcare benefits for their frontline nurses.
- Management’s attempt to roll back safe staffing standards that nurses won when they went on strike at two major hospitals three years ago. These safe staffing standards ensure that patients receive the time and attention they need from nurses and that nurses are not overburdened with patients. Safe staffing standards mean better care for patients.
- Management’s refusal to agree to protections from workplace violence, despite a recent active shooter incident at Mount Sinai Hospital and the recent horrific violent incident at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.Workplace violence is only getting worse and puts the safety of nurses and patients at risk.
While nurses have fought above all for safety, management has responded with retaliation, intimidation, and stalling.
In addition to Mount Sinai’s intimidation, NewYork-Presbyterian has threatened job loss for striking and coerced RNs for exercising their right to strike. Montefiore has surveilled union nurses, in attempts to intimidate them and attempted to silence RNs. Montefiore also unlawfully restricted striking nurses’ access to healthcare at the hospital and unlawfully restricted their access to the hospital’s pharmacy to pick up their prescription medications. NYSNA has filed unfair labor practice charges at all three hospitals.
While NewYork-Presbyterian, Montefiore and Mount Sinai – three of New York City’s wealthiest private hospitals – are claiming they can't afford to settle a fair union contract that keeps nurses and patients safe, they likely have plenty of cash on hand to use to fight their own workers. As of September 2025, these three hospitals 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, showing that the safe staffing ratios nurses won years ago allowed them to continue to rake in profits. And they’ve already spent more than $100 million on temporary traveler nurses, who don't know New York City patients or communities.
While prices in healthcare go up, so does executive pay at the largest private sector hospitals. The city’s private hospitals have increased their executive compensation by millions and according to 990 tax filings, the CEOs of New York City’s three major academic medical centers, Montefiore, Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian increased their total compensation, including salaries, benefits, and perks, by over 54% from 2020 to 2023. The CEOs at Montefiore, Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian, the same ones who say they cannot afford to safely staff their hospitals, now make, on average, nearly 12,000 percent more than the registered nurses on the frontlines caring for patients.
In 2024, NewYork-Presbyterian CEO Steve Corwin raked in $26.3 million in total compensation — that’s over $2.1 million per month, and nearly $72,000 per day. In just one day, NYP CEO Steve Corwin made more money than many New York City families make in an entire year.
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The New York State Nurses Association represents more than 42,000 members in New York State. We are New York’s largest union and professional association for registered nurses. NYSNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United, AFL-CIO, the country's largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses, with more than 225,000 members nationwide.