Some 20,000 nurses representing 12 hospitals at 13 locations spread across all five boroughs are preparing to ring in the new year with a general strike that could last for 10 days. Members of the New York State Nurses Association voted overwhelmingly earlier this month in favor of striking if their contract demands are not met by the end of 2025. “We became nurses because we care about our patients deeply and do not take striking lightly,” NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said. “It is always a last resort. But it’s shameful that instead of trying to protect care and settle a fair contract, hospitals are dragging their feet and making proposals that would seriously erode care in this city.” Bronx hospitals affected by the impending strike include Montefiore Medical Center and BronxCare Health System. In Manhattan, nurses at Mount Sinai Morningside, Mount Sinai Hospital, Columbia University Medical Center and Mount Sinai West voted to join the strike. And nurses at Flushing Hospital Medical Center in Queens voted to strike. Affected Brooklyn hospitals include Brooklyn Hospital Center, Interfaith Medical Center, Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center and Maimonides Medical Center. Nurses at Richmond University Medical Center in Staten Island are also expected to strike. The union is demanding increased security at hospitals, and fighting back against health care executives, as they seek to roll back provisions nurses say would allow hospitals to overload them with patients. “Instead of cutting from executive pay, risky new technologies, and money-making investments, they are proposing to compromise safe patient care by rolling back the staffing standards nurses worked hard to achieve,” NewYork-Presbyterian pediatric emergency room nurse Aretha Morgan said. “Nurses won’t stand by and watch them try to unravel staffing standards that have made such massive strides in helping hospitals cut back on wait times, reduce nurse burnout, improve patient care, and more.” Since contract negotiations began this summer, nurses have hosted speak-outs and rallies outside hospitals and at City Hall, where healthcare providers were joined by city council members including Mercedes Narcisse, Carmen De La Rosa and Lynn Schulman in calling for their contract demands to be met. “As a proud nurse and as Chair of the Hospitals Committee of the New York City Council, I know the difference that safe staffing and real investment in patient care make,” Narcisse said. “Hospitals must do their part, invest in their workforce, protect services, and ensure that every patient receives the care they deserve.” The union also organized vigils outside Mount Sinai Hospital after management retaliated against nurses who raised safety concerns in the wake of an active shooter threat at the Manhattan medical center. The impending labor action follows a 2023 strike that saw 7,000 nurses at Montefiore and Mount Sinai Hospital walk off the job after contraction negotiations broke down. The strike, which lasted for three days, ended after the two hospitals agreed to demands that included a pay increase and hiring additional nurses. ...read more read less