Day 28 of Historic Nurse Strike: NYSNA Nurses Make Progress at Bargaining Table
For immediate release: Feb. 8, 2025
Contact: Andrea Penman-Lomeli | press@nysna.org | 347-559-3169
Kristi Barnes | press@nysna.org | 646-853-4489
DAY 28 OF HISTORIC NURSE STRIKE: NYSNA NURSES MAKE PROGRESS AT BARGAINING TABLE
Nurses rallied with labor and elected leaders at Montefiore in the Bronx, made progress at the bargaining table
New York, NY — Nurses continue to meet and bargain at the Javits Center with the goal of settling fair contracts that protect patient and nurse safety. Due to the winter weather advisory, all picket lines have been suspended over the weekend.
During negotiations on Friday and Saturday, nurses made progress on key issues. Montefiore nurses improved staffing ratios in several areas of the hospital, added a safe staffing standard for the first time in an outpatient unit, and won new nurse positions to improve patient safety and wait times.
On Friday, NYSNA nurses spoke out at Montefiore Medical Center with labor allies and elected officials to demand that hospitals settle fair contracts that invest in New York City communities. Sen. Gustavo Rivera, Assembly Member George Alvarez, New York City Council Labor Chair Shirley Aldebol, NYC District Council of Carpenters, Westchester County Legislator Jenn Puja, and Massachusetts Nurses Association joined the nurses, along with NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN.
A new opinion editorial in amNY from ALIGN NY, an alliance of labor and community organizations, highlights how the NYC nurse strike is a snapshot of how corporate greed is tanking workers’ rights, wages, healthcare, and safety, and worsening our affordability crisis.
Nurses continue to advocate above all else for safety. A recent study showed that hospitals rank among the most dangerous workplaces in New York state. Nurses know that addressing this requires that hospitals invest in safe staffing standards by hiring more nurses and protections against workplace violence.
Over the past week, nurses have kept the fight for patient safety alive with rolling actions across the city. Nurses marched across the Brooklyn Bridge, took nonviolent direct action in front of the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes, and spoke out with elected officials and allies. At Mount Sinai hospital, nurses were joined by NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, BSN, RN, CCRN, City Council Member Mercedes Narcisse, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, L. Joy Williams, president, NAACP NY State Conference, and Anthony Harmon, special assistant to the Secretary-Treasurer, New York State AFL-CIO. At New-York Presbyterian, members of the New York City Council Progressive Caucus, Carmen De La Rosa, Althea Stevens, Tiffany Cabán, Sandy Nurse, Alexa Avilés, Kayla Santosuosso, Christopher Marte, Rita Joseph and Justin Sanchez, joined nurses on the picket line.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, said, “We continue to do hard work at the bargaining table, fighting for our patients and our communities. While our employers continue to use patients as bargaining chips, we know that patients deserve better and will continue to fight for the safe staffing standards that our patients deserve.”
NYSNA Executive Director Pat Kane, RN, CNOR(e), said, “We really appreciate all the solidarity we have received. It’s a great reminder that New York City’s unions and elected officials keep this city a union town. It shows that this strike is not just about nurses, it’s about protecting care for all working people.”
NYSNA nurses from Montefiore, Mount Sinai, Mount Sinai Morningside and West, and NewYork-Presbyterian intend to continue bargaining until they settle fair contracts that protect patient and nurse safety and that bring nurses back to work immediately and unconditionally.
Hospital management has spent thousands on disrespecting and publicly denigrating nurses. Yet, year after year, nurses are voted the most trusted profession because they fight for their patients. In New York City, many nurses come from the communities they care for and mirror patient demographics. Across the city, 35.4% of nurses are Black or African American, 10.7% Hispanic or Latinx, and 20.9% are AAPI. Over two-thirds of NYC nurses are women of color, and, according to the American Immigration Council, 28.2% of all registered nurses in New York state are immigrants.
Hospitals have claimed that they are ready to bring back the nurses, but they continue to pay expensive temporary replacement nurses as much as $10,000 per week. Mount Sinai recently advertised fornew temp contract assignments starting in mid-February. Before the strike even began, hospitals had already spent more than $100 million on temporary traveler nurses, who don't know New York Citypatients or communities.
###
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.