Labor and Unions in Health Care

After more than a monthlong strike involving about 4,200 nurses and following approvals of new contracts at two of three hospital systems, NewYork‑Presbyterian and the New York State Nurses Association reached a tentative settlement early Feb. 20, 2026, to end the city’s largest and longest nursing strike. Full contract details have not yet been released and the deal now goes to NYP nurses for ratification — with a potential return to work as early as next week — coming after an arbitrator awarded nearly $400,000 to Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital nurses over 2023–24 short‑staffing, which the union cited as evidence of the staffing problems that fueled the walkout.