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After nearly a month on the picket lines, nurses at two of New York City’s largest hospital systems, Montefiore and Mount Sinai, have reached tentative agreements with management, potentially ending one of the city’s biggest nurse strikes in decades.The walkout, which began on January 12, involved roughly 15,000 nurses demanding safer staffing, better pay, and stronger workplace protections.Contracts up for ratificationThe three-year agreements now await ratification by nurses at Montefiore, Mount Sinai Hospital, and Mount Sinai Morningside and West. If approved, nurses could return to work as early as Saturday. About 10,500 nurses are covered under the new contracts. NewYork-Presbyterian remains the only major hospital system still in negotiations.
Key highlights of the deal
According to the New York State Nurses Association, the tentative agreements include:
- Pay Raise: Over 12 per cent increase in salaries across three years.
- Safe Staffing: Additional nurses to ensure manageable workloads and safer patient care.
- Health Benefits: Current benefits maintained with no extra out-of-pocket costs.
- Workplace Safety: Enhanced protections against violence, including for immigrant and transgender nurses and patients.
- AI Safeguards: Restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence in nursing decisions, a first for these contracts.
Union calls it a win
“For four weeks, nearly 15,000 NYSNA members held the line in the cold and snow for safe patient care,” said NYSNA President Nancy Hagans. “Now nurses are heading back to the bedside with their heads held high after winning fair contracts.”Hospital officials said patient care largely continued during the strike, with some elective surgeries postponed and temporary nurses filling in.
They also noted that nurses’ average salaries range from $162,000–$165,000, while executives earn multimillion-dollar salaries.
Political support highlights strike
The walkout drew attention from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Senator Bernie Sanders, who joined nurses on picket lines. Sanders criticised “greed in the healthcare industry,” while Mamdani emphasised the importance of supporting frontline workers in a city they can live and work in. With contract votes set to begin, the focus now shifts to nurses’ approval. If ratified, the agreements will end a strike that has brought national attention to staffing shortages and workplace safety in American hospitals.
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