Nearly 16,000 NYC Nurses to Strike on Monday Unless Hospitals Agree to Workplace Violence Protections, Health Benefits, and Safe Staffing
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FRIDAY, JAN. 9, 2026
Contact: Andrea Penman-Lomeli | press@nysna.org | 347-559-3169
Kristi Barnes | press@nysna.org | 646-853-4489
NEARLY 16,000 NYC NURSES TO STRIKE ON MONDAY UNLESS HOSPITALS AGREE TO WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PROTECTIONS, HEALTH BENEFITS, AND SAFE STAFFING
Nurses held emergency action today to demand wealthy private hospitals bargain in good faith and agree to protections from workplace violence in light of last night’s tragic violent incident at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital
Richmond University Medical Center reached tentative agreement last night, averting strike
Northwell / Plainview Hospital on Long Island reached tentative agreement, but nearly 1,000 Northwell Long Island Nurses at Two Hospitals Still Could Strike on Monday
New York, NY— Late Thursday night, nurses at a fifth New York City safety-net hospital, Richmond University Medical Center (RUMC), settled their union contract, as well as Long Island nurses at Northwell / Plainview Hospital. On Friday, nurses at another safety net hospital, Bronxcare Health System, withdrew their strike notice after securing healthcare protections and safe staffing. Previously, nurses at Flushing Hospital Medical Center, Maimonides Medical Center, One Brooklyn Health Interfaith Medical Center and One Brooklyn Health Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center reached tentative agreements, and nurses at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center and The Brooklyn Hospital Center also rescinded strike notices.
On Friday, Jan. 9, NYSNA nurses held an emergency solidarity action at the League of Voluntary Hospitals to demand that hospital executives from the city’s wealthiest hospitals come to the table and agree to protections from workplace violence, healthcare for frontline nurses, and safe staffing.
NYSNA President and Maimonides nurse Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, said, “I am so relieved that none of our members, other patients, or other hospital workers were physically injured during last night’s violence and shooting at NewYork-Presbyterian Methodist Hospital. But even when an event doesn’t leave visible scars, it can deeply shake our sense of safety and leave us fearful. No one should ever have their hospital turn into a crime scene. This is why we are committed to winning workplace violence protections in our contracts. Our poorest safety-net hospitals have already agreed to strengthen protections from workplace violence. New York City’s wealthiest hospitals including Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian, where there have been recent incidents of violence, need to do the right thing and settle fair contracts that keep nurses and patients safe.”
Management at five NYC safety-net hospitals have now agreed to improve safe staffing, fully fund health benefits for nurses, protect nurses from workplace violence, and guarantee wage increases equitable with what nurses at the wealthy academic hospitals win. If the wealthiest hospitals do not follow the lead of safety-net hospitals and negotiate fair contracts, NYSNA nurses will go on the largest unfair labor practice nurse strike in New York City history on Jan. 12.
The deal reached at RUMC last night includes:
- Improved workplace violence protections including the addition of a Behavioral Health Rapid Response Team to respond to violent incidents
- Improved safe staffing enforcement giving arbitrators the power to issue financial remedies for nurses who worked short-staffed
- Continued healthcare benefits with no increases in premiums for nurses and continued funding for pension
- Annual base wages for all titles and statuses will be the average annual base wage increase agreed to in the bargaining agreements with NYSNA at Mount Sinai, NewYork-Presbyterian, and Montefiore
Negotiations at BronxCare, Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside and West, Montefiore, and NewYork-Presbyterian will continue today and through the weekend. Key sticking points in negotiations include management’s threats to cut healthcare benefits for the frontline nurses who care for New York City, management’s attempt to roll back safe staffing standards that nurses won when they went on strike at two major hospitals three years ago, and management’s refusal to agree to protections from workplace violence, despite a recent active shooter incident at Mount Sinai Hospital and yesterday evening’s horrific violent incident at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.
Northwell/ Plainview Hospital nurses signed a tentative agreement on a new contract today that protects safe patient care. Nurses at Northwell/ Huntington and Syosset Hospitals continue to bargain with the goal of settling fair contracts before the strike deadline of Jan. 12.
Yesterday, 45 labor unions, representing more than 2.5 million workers, released a letter calling on the remaining hospitals to settle fair contracts ahead of the Jan. 12 strike deadline. Hundreds of elected officials and community-based organizations previously sent NYSNA nurses letters of solidarity and urged hospital executives to settle fair contracts to protect the health and safety of New York’s communities.
While nurses have fought above all for safety, management has responded with retaliation, intimidation, and stalling, and flaunted the millions they’ve collectively spent on temporary travel nurses. Mount Sinai has attempted to threaten and silence nurses who have spoken out on workplace safety. NewYork-Presbyterian has threatened job loss for striking. Montefiore has surveilled union nurses, in attempts to intimidate them. All three hospitals have withheld information on their excessive use of traveler nurses. NYSNA has filed unfair labor practice charges in response and will strike if necessary to address this unlawful behavior.
Amidst the worst flu surge in recent history, hospital executives appear to be more willing to use patients as bargaining chips in negotiations than to come to fair contracts.
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 at a similar pre-pandemic point 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. Now, they're gearing up to collectively spend almost $100 million per week on temporary traveler nurses, who don't know New York City patients or communities.
NYSNA launched a new advertising campaign and website this fall that calls out hospital greed. Visit nychospitalgreed.com to learn more. Previously, nurses launched a website for New Yorkers to learn more about how to support NYSNA members: https://www.nursescareforny.org/
More than a thousand NYSNA Northwell Health nurses on Long Island are also bargaining for fair contracts that protect patient care. Nurses at Northwell/Huntington, Northwell/Plainview and Northwell/Syosset overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike. Northwell/ Plainview rescinded their strike notice after reaching a tentative agreement, but more than 850 Northwell nurses at Huntington and Syosset Hospitals are ready to strike on Jan. 12 if management does not agree to a fair contract. Long Island and New York City nurses are united and willing to do whatever is necessary to protect their patients and their communities.
Striking is always a last resort, but nurses say they are prepared to strike if hospital administration gives them no other option.
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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.