NY Presbyterian nurses continue strike despite union leadership’s sell-out

On Feb. 10, their 30th day on strike, over 4000 nurses at New York-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) were shocked to learn that a tentative agreement had been struck between management and union leadership behind the backs of the local bargaining committee. By the evening of Feb 11, while agreements at Mount Sinai and Montefiori systems were ratified, the NYP contract proposal was voted down by nearly a 4:1 margin, with 867 votes of approval and 3099 against.

On the evening of Feb. 10, union leadership of the New York State Nurses’ Association (NYSNA) sent an email ballot to the striking nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital locations to ratify a new contract proposal.

Contract proposals in the Mount Sinai and Montefiori hospital systems were drawn with input from their union locals, and striking nurses were given three days for a ratification vote. Polls across all three systems set to close by 5 p.m. on Feb. 11, giving nurses in the NYP system less than 24 hours to vote—a measure that broke union bylaws.

As the NYSNA leadership forced the vote, NYP nurses reported receiving emails and text blasts from NYSNA urging them to vote YES. But the tentative agreement, along with circumventing the local bargaining unit, was considered insufficient by the local executive committee and many striking nurses. While the contract proposal ensured improved health-care benefits, key demands were not thoroughly addressed: namely, safe staffing ratios, measures against workplace violence, and protections against layoffs, a site specific concern for NYP workers, in light of the system’s mass layoffs in May 2025, when over 1000 nurses were fired.

Despite their union leadership’s betrayal, rank-and-file nurses refused to back down. Led by their executive committee, NYP strikers called an emergency rally at 11 a.m. on Feb. 11 by Herald Square. Around 100 nurses marched to the NYSNA Manhattan headquarters to protest the betrayal by their union leadership and chanted outside the building while their bargaining committee delivered a petition demanding accountability and an open hearing with NYSNA president Nancy Hagans. According to local executive committee president Beth Loudin, the petition had garnered over 1500 signatures from striking nurses overnight.

Following petition delivery, many went uptown to rally outside the three affected hospitals, where hundreds of nurses were continuing to picket despite a lack of NYSNA union support.

Many nurses at the picket line reported feeling shocked, disgusted, and exhausted by the betrayal by NYSNA top officials. They reported feeling abandoned by their so-called “leaders,” including union bureaucrats and “progressive” Democrats like N.Y. Governor Kathy Hochul, who has used emergency executive orders to allow hospitals to hire strike-breaking nurses from out-of-state, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who endorsed Hochul for re-election on Feb 5. “Politicians like Mamdani come to our picket for a photo-op and then betray us,” one NYP nurse told me.

As the NYP Hospital strike continues into its 32nd day, it is more urgent than ever for supporters to bolster the picket line and show solidarity for the longest and largest nurses’ strike in city history. After betrayals by union bureaucrats and politicians, the working class must fight alongside the rank-and-file nurses in the tireless struggle for a fair contract.

First published here by Workers’ Voice

Photo: Richard Drew / AP