NewYork-Presbyterian Slammed with Almost $400K in Financial Remedies to RNs for Understaffing Hospital, Nurses Continue to Strike for Safe Staffing

For immediate release: Tues., Feb 17, 2026

Contact: Andrea Penman-Lomeli | press@nysna.org | 347-559-3169   
Kristi Barnes | press@nysna.org | 646-853-4489

NEWYORK-PRESBYTERIAN SLAMMED WITH ALMOST $400K IN FINANCIAL REMEDIES TO RNS FOR UNDERSTAFFING HOSPITAL, NURSES CONTINUE TO STRIKE FOR SAFE STAFFING

Arbitrator rules in favor of striking nurses and awards $399,829 to nurses in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit at NYP CHONY who worked understaffed shifts

4,200 NYSNA nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian continue historic nurse strike, now in sixth week

New York, NY — On Monday, Feb. 15, NYSNA nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian who work in a pediatric intensive care unit at the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital (CHONY) won an arbitration award after tracking the unsafe staffing levels in their unit from Jan. 1, 2023, to May 31, 2024. The arbitrator found that the hospital had violated the nurse contract’s staffing provisions 614 times and awarded nurses who worked understaffed $399,829. NYSNA nurses at NYP are in their sixth week of historic nurse strike and continue to demand that the hospital address the safe staffing issues.  

Nurses who care for some of the sickest infants in the state were concerned about the chronic understaffing on their unit carefully tracked and documented the staffing levels over the course of a year and a half. The arbitrator reviewed their documentation and, following multiple days of hearing, found that the hospital had violated the nurses’ contracts and failed to hire and retain sufficient nurses to safely staff the hospital’s pediatric cardiac intensive care unit. The arbitrator found that the “record established a perceived pattern of violations.”  

This finding is the third finding of make whole relief for RNs. Arbitrators have awarded NYP RNs approximately $675,000 and 141 extra vacation days to remedy staffing violations on three different units. However, NYP has appealed every award so far, which means that nurses have yet to receive any financial compensation. These cases are currently on appeal in federal court.

Sophie Boland, RN, from NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, said, “The most vulnerable patients in the city deserve the absolutely best care possible. That means having enough patients to safely care for our sickest children. While the financial remedies are nice, what we really want is more nurses and a contract that makes it harder for the hospital to avoid taking accountability. That’s why we’re on strike. It shouldn’t take years to get an acknowledgement of the conditions we’ve worked under when NYP could just do the right thing and safely staff the hospital.”

NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, said, “NYP is one of the richest hospitals in the state. We know they can afford to safely staff their hospitals, yet they choose not to. Nurses are out on the picket line because they refuse to compromise on safe patient care. Arbitrators and judges have consistently ruled in nurses’ favor, despite the hospital making every attempt to denigrate nurses publicly. We will continue to fight against NYP until they agree to a contract that patients and nurses deserve.”

Instead of safely staffing, NYP has routinely fought nurses’ demands for enough nurses to safely care for patients. NYP has spent untold amounts of money on meritless lawsuits against nurses who have fought for enough nurses at the bedside to safely do their jobs. After hearing the hospital system’s arguments when the hospital pushed back on an arbitrator’s award, a federal judge described their tactics as a form of “gamesmanship” to avoid resolving disputes (New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist v. New York State Nurses Association, 24-cv-05750-NRM (Eastern District of New York, August 22, 2024), Transcript of Civil Cause for Order to Show Cause, at *57). NYP has consistently avoided accountability when it comes to safely staffing their hospitals.

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.  New CEO Brian Donley made $5.4 million in salary, benefits and perks in 2024.  

NYSNA nurses at NYP recently voted down a mediator’s proposal that they say failed to adequately address their staffing concerns. They continue to strike and demand that the hospital agree to their staffing standards. The latest picket line times can be found at www.nysna.org/strike.

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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.