Overview
- Picket lines continue at Mount Sinai and its affiliates, NewYork‑Presbyterian/Columbia, and Montefiore, with hospitals operating using temporary personnel.
- Nurses seek enforceable staffing ratios, pay increases tied to the cost of living, stronger protections against workplace violence, preserved health and pension benefits, and limits on hospital use of artificial intelligence.
- Hospital systems say they have improved staffing since 2023 and argue the union’s demands are unaffordable, while deploying thousands of temporary nurses and activating contingency plans.
- Governor Kathy Hochul declared a disaster emergency allowing out‑of‑state and foreign clinicians to work temporarily, with authority in place through at least February 8.
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined picket lines and urged good‑faith talks, as officials caution that prolonged disruption could trigger patient transfers, postponed procedures, and ambulance diversions.