Since January 12, 15,000 nurses working in three major private hospital systems in New York City have been on strike and say they are not going back to work until they get a fair work contract with their employers, the New York-Presbyterian, Mount Sinai and Montefiore systems.  

Patient and nurse safety are central to their demands, echoing the fight for ratios happening in many places around the world, and in particular in Quebec. It’s the same everywhere: The key to providing quality care is being able to count on enough nursing staff.  

Represented by the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), the nurses demands include:  

• Respect for safe ratios  
• Salary increase  
• Better healthcare benefits for nurses  
• Protection from violence in the workplace  

“We need hospital management to understand that we are out here fighting for the safety of our patients and nurses, so that every patient can have a qualified nurse at their bedside. Hospital management must take action to maintain our health benefits, guarantee enforceable safe staffing, and make hospitals safer workplaces,” said NYSNA President Nancy Hagans. 

On the picket lines, many are denouncing the hospitals’ claims that wage demands are excessive, while senior management receives multi-million-dollar salaries. They have received widespread support, including from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. 

Long negotiations  

At the end of December, after months of negotiations without progress, 97% of members working in private hospitals in New York voted in favour of a strike. Their representatives explained that while this measure was a last resort, nurses were prepared to make great sacrifices to ensure that there were enough of them to provide quality care to all New Yorkers, which includes compliance with staffing ratios, but also a plan to attract and retain nurses.  

In the first days of January, tentative agreements were reached with some hospitals. However, negotiations were not concluded for these three systems, which set off a strike.  

Ratios key to mobilization  

It’s not the first time New York nurses have widely mobilized to ensure there’s enough staff to guarantee patient safety. After a three-day strike in January 2023, 7,000 nurses working in the Mount Sinai and Montefiore hospitals had achieved safe ratios, some exceeding those implemented in California, according to the union. Mechanisms to ensure sufficient staffing were also added to the agreements.  

Follow along online and on social media: New York State Nurses Association