NYC nurses strike hits Mount Sinai, NewYork‑Presbyterian and Montefiore over staffing and benefits
Nearly 15,000 nurses at five privately run New York City hospitals — Mount Sinai Hospital (and its Morningside and West campuses), Montefiore Einstein and NewYork‑Presbyterian — walked off the job Monday, starting at 6 a.m. at Mount Sinai and 7 a.m. at the other sites, in a strike over staffing and benefits. The New York State Nurses Association is demanding safe staffing ratios, preservation of nurses’ health‑care benefits, stronger workplace‑violence protections and limits on AI, while hospitals accuse the union of making costly, “reckless” demands (including near‑40% pay increases), and state and city officials have declared a state of emergency and deployed health staff as hospitals hire temps and brace for transfers, cancellations and ambulance diversions.
📌 Key Facts
- Nearly 15,000 nurses walked off the job Monday at five privately run New York City hospitals: Mount Sinai Hospital and its Morningside and West campuses, Montefiore (including Montefiore/Einstein in the Bronx), and NewYork‑Presbyterian.
- Nurses at Mount Sinai began striking at 6 a.m.; nurses at the remaining hospitals were slated to begin at 7 a.m.
- Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency and signed executive orders to ensure the State Department of Health has staff on site at impacted hospitals.
- The nurses' union (NYSNA) is pressing for safe staffing ratios, preservation of nurses' health‑care benefits, stronger workplace‑violence protections, and limits on use of artificial intelligence in hospitals, and accuses wealthy hospital systems of trying to cut nurse benefits.
- Hospitals pushed back, with Montefiore calling the union's demands a $3.6 billion package (including nearly 40% wage increases and certain job‑protection proposals) and labeling the strike 'reckless'; hospitals say they are hiring temporary nurses and trying to keep appointments where possible.
- New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the city is 'prepared for any and all scenarios' and stated that 'no nurse should be asked to accept less pay, fewer benefits or less dignity.'
- The strike is unfolding during a severe flu season and could lead to patient transfers, procedure cancellations and ambulance diversions, increasing strain on other city hospitals.
📊 Relevant Data
In 2022-2023, nursing graduates from CUNY programs in New York were 30% Black, Non-Hispanic; 27% Asian or Pacific Islander; 13% Hispanic, Other; and 30% White, Non-Hispanic.
2023 Nursing Degree Programs Report — City University of New York (CUNY)
The health care workforce at Montefiore Health System is 25.89% White, 33.74% Black, 23.04% Hispanic/Latinx, 15.20% Asian, and 2.13% multiracial/other.
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19-Related Stressor Exposure and Adverse Mental Health Outcomes Among Health Care Workers — American Journal of Psychiatry
Racial and ethnic minority nurses experience workplace violence in the forms of macroaggressions, including physical violence, and microaggressions, such as verbal abuse and discrimination.
The Lived Experiences of Racial and Ethnic Minority Nurses Regarding Experiences of Workplace Racism and Violence — Journal of Transcultural Nursing
A survey by National Nurses United found that artificial intelligence technology often contradicts and undermines nurses' own clinical judgment.
A.I.’s impact on nursing and health care — National Nurses United
📰 Source Timeline (3)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- AP piece confirms roughly 15,000 nurses are on strike across Mount Sinai’s main hospital and two satellite campuses, NewYork‑Presbyterian, and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.
- Details union’s core demands: safe staffing ratios, preservation of nurses’ health‑care benefits, stronger workplace‑violence protections, and limits on use of artificial intelligence in hospitals.
- Includes Montefiore’s claim that NYSNA is making “$3.6 billion in reckless demands” including nearly 40% wage hikes and protections against termination for nurses found impaired on duty, and hospitals’ assertions they are hiring temporary nurses and keeping appointments where possible.
- Notes the strike is unfolding during a severe flu season and could force patient transfers, procedure cancellations, and ambulance diversions, pushing strain onto other city hospitals.
- Confirms the strike has actually started, with nearly 15,000 nurses walking off the job Monday at five privately run hospitals: Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside, Mount Sinai West, Montefiore Einstein and NewYork-Presbyterian.
- Provides exact start times: nurses at Mount Sinai began striking at 6 a.m., while nurses at the remaining hospitals were slated to begin at 7 a.m.
- Adds detail that Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency in anticipation of the strike and signed executive orders to ensure the State Department of Health has staff on-site at impacted hospitals.
- Includes sharper framing of union demands and hospital pushback, with NYSNA accusing 'wealthy' hospital systems of trying to cut nurse health benefits and hospitals calling the strike 'reckless' and accusing nurses of abandoning patients.
- Quotes New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani recognizing the strike, saying the city is 'prepared for any and all scenarios' and explicitly stating that 'no nurse should be asked to accept less pay, fewer benefits or less dignity.'