New York Nurses Resume Contract Talks Amid Ongoing Strike

Fri Jan 16 2026 22:01:41 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

As New York City nurses enter the fifth day of their historic strike, negotiations have resumed with major hospital systems in an effort to find common ground over staffing concerns.

The New York State Nurses Association has restarted contract discussions with key hospital systems, including Mount Sinai, as the strike by approximately 15,000 nurses continues. Mediators are facilitating talks, but both sides report limited progress. The hospitals maintain that the union's proposals are unreasonable, while union representatives claim their revised proposals have not been met with any counter-offers. Negotiations with Montefiore have not yet resumed, leaving uncertainty in the critical healthcare sector.

NEW YORK (AP) — Nurses on strike in New York City reported that they have restarted contract negotiations with another major hospital system amid ongoing action, now entering its fifth day.

The New York State Nurses Association announced on Friday that its bargaining team commenced discussions with officials at the three impacted Mount Sinai hospitals in response to a mediator's request.

Earlier that week, the union met with NewYork-Presbyterian officials, marking the first negotiations since around 15,000 nurses walked off the job on Monday.

Despite the lengthy meeting, little progress was reported toward ending the city's largest strike of its kind in decades. The hospital stated that discussions centered around staffing concerns but claimed the proposals put forth by the nurses were unreasonable.

The union countered that their revised proposals were met with rejection, and no counter-offer was provided. Approximately 70 nurses observed the talks after they were opened to regular union members.

Plans for further meetings remain uncertain, as stated by both sides. While we are still far apart, we are committed to bargaining in good faith, commented NewYork-Presbyterian in a statement, emphasizing that they maintain the best staffing ratios in the city.

Meanwhile, negotiations have yet to resume with Montefiore, the third major affected hospital system. There had been expectations for a meeting with the Bronx based healthcare provider, yet hospital officials denied that any such meeting was scheduled.

“NYSNA nurses respect the mediators and are ready and willing to come to the bargaining table when they call,” expressed union president Nancy Hagans. “We urge hospital executives to do the same.”

Operations at the affected medical centers have continued smoothly, as they have secured thousands of temporary nurses to keep emergency services functional during the strike. Dr. Philip Ozuah, president of Montefiore Einstein in the Bronx, acknowledged the efforts of staff, stating, Another day, another miracle, as he praised ongoing patient care efforts.