(Bloomberg) – Thousands of nurses at three major New York City hospitals began a strike this Monday (12), amid a strong flu season and growing pressure on the US healthcare system.
The strike involves around 15,000 professionals from institutions such as Mount Sinai Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian, in Manhattan, as well as Montefiore Medical Center, in the Bronx. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is expected to join nurses on the picket lines in Washington Heights on Monday.
At the center of the impasse is a labor dispute. The union that represents professionals, the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), claims that hospital administrations are threatening to reduce workers’ benefits. The management of the three hospitals classified the decision to go on strike as “reckless”, according to a statement released before the start of the strike.
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Mount Sinai said it has mobilized 1,400 qualified and specialized nurses and is “prepared to continue providing safe care to patients for the duration of the strike.”
U.S. health care systems are struggling after President Donald Trump’s economic package cut about $1 trillion in funding from Medicaid, the public health insurance program aimed at low-income people and people with disabilities. The impasse in Congress over extending Affordable Care Act subsidies is also putting pressure on the sector. Labor represents almost 50% of hospitals’ operating costs.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she is in frequent contact with the union and hospital leaders. Although she reported progress in negotiations, her office said in a statement on Sunday that she signed an executive order allowing hospitals to access resources to maintain patient care.
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Before the strike began, Mamdani declared that the city was “prepared for any scenario”.
“No New Yorker should fear losing access to healthcare – and no nurse should accept lower pay, fewer benefits or less dignity for doing life-saving work,” he said in a message published on X on Sunday night. “Our nurses kept this city alive in its darkest times. Their value is non-negotiable.”
The union is calling for safer staffing levels, better health benefits and greater workplace safety following a series of recent incidents. Last week, a man armed with a sharp object barricaded himself in a room at Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, and in November a gunman broke into a Mount Sinai office.
“The city’s wealthiest hospitals, like Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian — where recent violence has occurred — need to do what’s right and enter into fair contracts that protect nurses and patients,” Nancy Hagans, the union’s president, said in a statement.
Monday’s strike comes three years after a similar impasse resulted in a historic collective agreement.
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