Negotiations are set to restart in a bid to end a major nurses' strike in New York City, now entering its fourth day. Thousands of unionised nurses walked off the job earlier this week, creating the city's most significant nursing walkout in decades.
Talks Resume After Days of Deadlock
The New York State Nurses Association confirmed its bargaining teams will meet with administrators from NewYork-Presbyterian late on Thursday, 15 January 2026. This marks the first formal discussions since Sunday, just before an estimated 15,000 nurses began their strike action.
Further meetings are scheduled for Friday with officials from other affected hospitals, including Mount Sinai and Montefiore. However, the union has noted that some hospitals have not yet agreed to return to the negotiating table. Each medical centre is conducting its own separate talks with the union, and not every facility within the three large healthcare systems is impacted by the industrial action.
To maintain essential services, hospitals have brought in thousands of temporary nurses to staff emergency rooms and other critical departments during the strike.
Core Issues: Safety, Staffing, and Salaries
The striking nurses state their primary goals are to protect their healthcare benefits and secure enforceable contract terms that address chronic understaffing and improve safety against rising workplace violence.
At a union rally on Thursday, Sheryl Ostroff, a Mount Sinai nurse, gave a harrowing account of the risks frontline staff face. "I’ve been scratched in the face, bitten, kicked in the ribs, spit on, pushed, punched, sexually assaulted — you name it," she said. "It’s not acceptable, and we want our hospitals to protect us."
Hospital management, however, contends that the union's financial demands are excessive. Mount Sinai claims the proposed contract would raise the average nurse's annual salary from about $162,000 to nearly $250,000 within three years. Montefiore provided a similar estimate of $220,000. The union has dismissed these figures as "outlandish math" but has not publicly provided its own counter calculations.
In a statement, NewYork-Presbyterian said it was "committed to keep negotiating for a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our deep respect for our nurses... and also recognizes the challenging realities of today’s healthcare environment."
Rallying Support and Allegations of Intimidation
Union leaders, alongside elected officials and other labour groups, held a rally on Thursday outside Mount Sinai’s Morningside campus near Columbia University. The union reports this hospital is among those yet to agree to resume talks.
Simone Way, a nurse at that location, emphasised the staffing crisis. "We have ‘sounded the alarm for years’... It is incredibly hard to deliver the level of care our patients deserve," she stated.
The dispute has grown increasingly acrimonious. Brendan Carr, CEO of the Mount Sinai health system, released a video alleging that nurses who chose to work instead of strike have faced "harassment and intimidation." He called such behaviour inconsistent with the institution's values.
Conversely, the union has filed an unfair labour practice charge against Mount Sinai for terminating three nurses on the eve of the strike. The situation remains fluid as both sides prepare for crucial talks that could determine when 15,000 nurses return to their posts.
