Historic Strike Imminent for 16,000 NYC Nurses as Contract Talks Stall

New York, Monday, 12 January 2026.
As of Monday, January 12, 2026, New York City faces the largest nursing strike in its history, with approximately 16,000 nurses at Mount Sinai, Montefiore, and NewYork-Presbyterian prepared to walk off the job following expired contracts. Despite a midnight deadline, negotiations remain deadlocked over critical issues including safe staffing ratios, wage increases, and protections against rising workplace violence—highlighted by recent armed incidents at medical facilities. While nurses at Northwell Health successfully ratified agreements, the remaining major private hospital systems argue that the union’s demands, estimated at $3.6 billion, are financially unsustainable. Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency to mitigate the impact on patient care, but the standoff underscores a deepening crisis in the healthcare labor market where frontline safety concerns are colliding with institutional fiscal constraints. This labor action threatens significant disruptions to medical services across the nation’s economic hub.