Hospital and nurses fail to negotiate during second day of NYC's largest
nursing strike in decades
[January 14, 2026]
By PHILIP MARCELO and JOSEPH B. FREDERICK
NEW YORK (AP) — Hospital officials and union leaders traded barbs
Tuesday, but failed to return to the bargaining table on the second day
of New York City’s biggest nursing strike in decades.
The union accused one hospital, Mount Sinai, of illegally firing three
nurses, though the medical center claimed the individuals had sabotaged
emergency preparedness drills.
Another hospital, Montefiore Medical Center, criticized what it
described as the union's “reckless demands” and “troubling proposals” in
contract talks.
The hospitals also sought to downplay the strike's impact, with
Montefiore claiming it has “not canceled even one patient’s access to
care” during the work stoppage. Mt. Sinai said around 20% of its regular
nurses have so far opted to remain on duty rather than join the strike
line.
“This strike is designed to create disruption, but our patients are
continuing to receive the care they trust us to provide,” NewYork-Presbyterian,
one of the impacted hospital systems, said in statement.
But the fired Mt. Sinai nurses maintain they’re being silenced for being
outspoken union organizers.
“We will not be bullied,” said Liliana Prestia, speaking at a rally
Tuesday at Mount Sinai's flagship campus on Manhattan's Upper East Side.
“It was Mount Sinai’s cruel attempt to stop us from joining the strike
line and to make us an example to our fellow nurses.”
Union officials said none of the hospitals has agreed to additional
bargaining sessions since their last meetings on Sunday. Montefiore,
however, said the union hasn't reached out.
The union says roughly 15,000 nurses walked off the job Monday morning
at multiple campuses of the three hospital systems.
The hospitals, in response, have hired droves of temporary nurses as
both nurses and administrators have urged patients not to avoid getting
care during the strike.
New York City, like the U.S. as a whole, has had an active flu season.
The city logged over 32,000 cases during the week ending Dec. 20 — the
highest one-week tally in at least 20 years — though numbers have since
declined, the Health Department said last Thursday.
Roy Permaul, an intensive care unit nurse who was among those picketing
in front of Mt. Sinai, said he and his colleagues are prepared to stay
out for as long as needed to secure a better contract.
But Dania Munoz, a nurse practitioner at Mt. Sinai, stressed that the
union’s fight wasn’t just about better wages.
“We deserve fair pay, but this is about safety for our patients, for
ourselves and for our profession,” the 31-year-old Bronx resident said.
“The things that we’re fighting for, we need. We need health care. We
need safety. We need more staffing.”
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Nurses strike in front of Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx borough
of New York, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
 The New York State Nurses
Association said it filed an unfair labor practice charge against
Mt. Sinai on Tuesday for terminating the three nurses on the eve of
the strike.
Mt. Sinai maintains the nurses had hid supplies from replacement
nurses in training during emergency preparedness drills. It said the
“completely unacceptable behavior” was captured on security footage.
Meanwhile, NewYork-Presbyterian called the union's wage proposals
“unrealistic," saying they represent a roughly 25% wage increase
over the next three years. It also stressed that administrators are
not seeking to eliminate health benefits for nurses, as the union
claims.
And Montefiore criticized the union for a proposal it says would
prevent nurses from being fired, even if they're found to be
compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job.
But the union said Montefiore was “blatantly mischaracterizing” one
of its basic workplace proposals, which would have added protections
for nurses dealing with substance use disorders and which has
already been adopted in other hospitals around the state.
The city Emergency Management Department said it hasn’t seen major
impacts to patient care so far.
The Greater New York Hospital Association, an industry group, said
hospitals canceled scheduled surgeries, transferred patients from
more specialized units and increased discharges in the days leading
up to the strike in order to streamline and reduce the number of
patients they’re serving, the group said.
Ambulances also routed patients to other hospitals to help ease the
burden on busier facilities on the first day of the strike, though
no diversions were reported Tuesday, according to Brian Conway, a
spokesperson for the association.
The labor action comes three years after a similar strike forced
medical facilities to transfer some patients and divert ambulances.
As with the 2023 labor action, nurses have pointed to staffing
issues as a major flashpoint, accusing the big-budget medical
centers of refusing to commit to provisions for safe, manageable
workloads.
The private, nonprofit hospitals say they’ve made strides in
staffing in recent years and have cast the union’s demands as
prohibitively expensive.
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