Thousands of NYC nurses strike for better staffing and pay

Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.

"Nurses on strike! ... Fair contract now!" they shouted on a picket line outside NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital's campus in Upper Manhattan. Others picketed at hospitals in the Mount Sinai and Montefiore systems, where a 2023 nursing strike fed off pandemic-era frustrations and led to a deal to boost staffing and pay.
"And now, it's how they're treating us: They don't want to give us a fair contract, and they don't want to give us safe staffing, and now they're trying to roll back on our benefits," emergency department nurse Tristan Castillo said as she picketed Monday outside Mount Sinai West.

About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to their union, the New York State Nurses Association. The hospitals remained open, hiring droves of temporary nurses to try to fill the labor gap.