Nearly 15K Picket In Largest NYC Nurse Strike In History
2 weeks ago
Nurses with the New York State Nurses Association picketed outside NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital's Columbia campus on Monday (January 12), calling for safer staffing levels, improved working conditions and a fair contract.
The action marked what union leaders described as the largest nurses' strike in New York City history, with nearly 15,000 nurses walking off the job across multiple hospitals.
"We are participating in the historic largest nurses strike in New York City today," said registered nurse Stephanie Miceli. "We're advocating for our patients for better care and safety while they're in the hospital."
Nurses said chronic understaffing has left them stretched thin, limiting the time they can spend with patients and raising safety concerns.
"There's too many patients, there's not enough nurses," said AJ K., a registered nurse at the hospital. "I want to be able to be at bedside, but I can't because I'm running from room to room."
Miceli, who works in the intensive care unit, said the pace of care can be relentless.
"We are constantly running to the point where sometimes we don't even get to take a break," she said.
Union officials said the strike followed months of bargaining in which hospital management failed to make progress on what nurses described as core issues, including staffing levels, healthcare benefits and workplace safety.
Nurses carried signs reading "Patients Over Profits" and "Safe Nurses = Safe Patients," while supporters waved from a skybridge as ambulances passed.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined the nurses and urged a return to negotiations.
"They are not asking for a multi-million dollar salary," Mamdani said. "They are asking for the pay and health benefits that they deserve."
He called on hospital management and the union to "bargain in good faith" and reach an agreement that allows nurses "who work in this city to live in this city."
The action marked what union leaders described as the largest nurses' strike in New York City history, with nearly 15,000 nurses walking off the job across multiple hospitals.
"We are participating in the historic largest nurses strike in New York City today," said registered nurse Stephanie Miceli. "We're advocating for our patients for better care and safety while they're in the hospital."
Nurses said chronic understaffing has left them stretched thin, limiting the time they can spend with patients and raising safety concerns.
"There's too many patients, there's not enough nurses," said AJ K., a registered nurse at the hospital. "I want to be able to be at bedside, but I can't because I'm running from room to room."
Miceli, who works in the intensive care unit, said the pace of care can be relentless.
"We are constantly running to the point where sometimes we don't even get to take a break," she said.
Union officials said the strike followed months of bargaining in which hospital management failed to make progress on what nurses described as core issues, including staffing levels, healthcare benefits and workplace safety.
Nurses carried signs reading "Patients Over Profits" and "Safe Nurses = Safe Patients," while supporters waved from a skybridge as ambulances passed.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined the nurses and urged a return to negotiations.
"They are not asking for a multi-million dollar salary," Mamdani said. "They are asking for the pay and health benefits that they deserve."
He called on hospital management and the union to "bargain in good faith" and reach an agreement that allows nurses "who work in this city to live in this city."
