Nearly 15,000 NYC Nurses Could Strike Monday — Union and Hospitals Clash Over Staffing, Safety and AI

Thousands of registered nurses at several of New York City’s largest private hospitals are poised to begin a strike Monday unless contract talks produce an agreement, union leaders warn. The potential walkout — which could involve nearly 15,000 nurses — comes amid a severe flu season and three years after a similar action prompted patient transfers and ambulance diversions.

What’s At Stake

The dispute centers on staffing guarantees, workplace safety and new demands for formal limits on hospital uses of artificial intelligence. Nurses say major medical centers are retreating from staffing commitments reached after the 2023 walkout and are failing to guarantee manageable, safe workloads. The union also cites rising safety concerns after two recent violent incidents at area hospitals.

Union Demands And Security Concerns

The New York State Nurses Association, led by President Nancy Hagans, is pushing for binding protections for nurse staffing levels, stronger workplace-security measures and guardrails for how hospitals deploy AI in clinical and administrative roles. Union leaders pointed to a November incident in which a gunman entered Mount Sinai and to a separate case this week in which a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room; both suspects were later killed by police.

“My hospital tries to cut corners on staffing every day, and then they try to fight historic gains we made three years ago,” said Sophie Boland, a pediatric intensive-care nurse in the NewYork-Presbyterian system.

Hospitals' Response And Preparations

The nonprofit hospitals involved — including Mount Sinai in Manhattan, Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center — say they have made progress on staffing since 2023 and contend the union’s full slate of demands would be prohibitively expensive. Hospitals have described the strike threat as “reckless,” but also say they will take steps to minimize disruptions.

Mount Sinai says it has hired more than 1,000 temporary nurses and conducted strike-preparation drills that could affect its 1,100-bed main hospital and two roughly 500-bed affiliates. NewYork-Presbyterian has also arranged for temporary staffing and warned that, if a walkout occurs, some patients may be moved or advised to transfer. Montefiore has assured patients that scheduled appointments will be kept and notes it has reduced the time from emergency admission to a clinical-unit bed by roughly 35%.

Potential Impact And Political Reaction

Hospital systems warn that a strike could lead to postponed nonemergency procedures, patient transfers and longer waits in some units — outcomes that were seen during the three-day 2023 strike. Gov. Kathy Hochul urged both sides to “stay at the table and get a deal done,” and union leaders have urged patients not to delay necessary care if a strike takes place.

Backstory: The 2023 Walkout

The same union organized a 2023 strike at Mount Sinai and Montefiore that led to raises totaling 19% over three years and commitments to staffing improvements, including extra pay when nurses were forced to work short-handed. The union now says hospitals are backsliding on those guarantees; hospitals say they have hired hundreds of nurses and significantly reduced vacancy rates since that deal.

In recent days, several smaller hospitals, including multiple Northwell Health facilities on Long Island, avoided walkouts after reaching agreements or making progress the union deemed sufficient. Negotiations for the larger systems remain ongoing as the Monday deadline approaches.