About 15,000 nurses went on strike in New York City, USA. Nurses working at hospitals across Manhattan and the Bronx began a strike at 6 a.m. on the 12th (local time) after recent collective agreement negotiations with the hospitals broke down. There is also the possibility that this could be the largest nurses’ strike in New York City history.
Nurses are on strike near Mount Sinai West Hospital in New York, USA, on the 12th (local time). /AP=Yonhap News
According to US public radio station NPR on this day, the nurses who participated in the strike belonged to the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) and simultaneously held a picket protest in front of hospitals affiliated with Mount Sinai Health System, Montefiore Medical Center, and New York-Presbyterian Hospital. In front of Mount Sinai Hospital, nurses stood in line from early in the morning to greet their colleagues coming out of the night shift, strengthening their solidarity.
The key reasons for the union’s strike were chronic manpower shortages and workplace safety issues. Nurses explained, “After the coronavirus pandemic, the demand for patients only increased as the field workforce did not recover due to large-scale turnover and a decrease in the inflow of new personnel.” As hospitals are delaying staffing for cost-cutting reasons, the situation in emergency rooms and intensive care units where one nurse is in charge of 14 to 15 patients at the same time is recurring. Nurses argued that this structure increases the risk of medical accidents and directly threatens patient safety.
It is said that safety issues have also worsened in conjunction with a shortage of manpower. Nurses pointed out, “Violence incidents and gun threats in hospitals are increasing, but access control and security personnel are not sufficiently secured.” Accordingly, they are demanding that metal detectors be installed at all entrances and exits of the hospital and that violence response personnel be permanently stationed. In particular, he said, “As security response is delayed due to lack of manpower, the number of cases where medical staff are directly exposed to danger is increasing.”
New York Mayor Zoran Mamdani is holding a press conference after visiting the site of the New York nurses’ strike. /AFP=Yonhap News
In addition, the issue of federal immigration enforcement agents entering hospitals is also acting as a source of conflict. Nurses said, “Both patients and medical staff are experiencing confusion in a situation where it is unclear whether or not there will be an immigration crackdown,” and demanded that “clear response guidelines at the hospital level need to be established.”
Hospital management said it was preparing to maintain medical services during the strike. Montefiore Hospital predicted, “This strike could last for several weeks.” “The costs of operational planning and staffing for a prolonged strike are significant,” Dr. Brendan Carr, CEO of Mount Sinai Health System, wrote in an internal memo to employees.
In addition, the union explained that this strike took place at a time when hospitals were under financial pressure due to cuts in Medicaid and medical aid from the federal government. The existing collective agreement expired on December 31 last year. The last large-scale nurse strike in New York City was in 2023, when the strike lasted three days and nurses received promises of wage increases and expanded staffing. The union stated that this strike was aimed at maintaining the achievements made at the time and meeting additional demands, including issues related to violence in the workplace.
On the other hand, the hospital argued, “If we accept the wage and benefit package requested by the union, costs will increase by billions of dollars in the coming years, increasing our financial burden.” In response, the union refuted this, saying, “There are cases where even hospitals with worse financial conditions have already concluded negotiations.”
New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani visited the strike site and expressed solidarity with the nurses. He urged the hospital management to negotiate in good faith “so that nurses working in this city can live in this city.” State Attorney General Letitia James also pointed out, “If hospitals have the resources to hire replacement staff, they can afford to meet the needs of nurses.”
In preparation for a prolonged strike, New York Governor Cathy Ho-chul declared a disaster emergency and issued an executive order allowing medical staff from other states and Canada to provide treatment in New York. Health authorities are coordinating patient transfers between hospitals and reallocating personnel to ensure patient safety and minimize medical gaps during the strike period.
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