National Nurses United

4 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G O C T O B E R | N O V E M B E R | D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 5 NEW YORK T hree years ago this January, 7,000 members of the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) held a historic three-day strike and won what previously seemed impossible: enforceable safe nurse-to-patient staffing ratios at two of New York City's largest hos- pital networks, Mount Sinai and Montefiore. Nurses also won historic pay increases and improved safe-staffing stan- dards at hospitals across New York City. Now, 20,000 nurses at 12 New York City private-sector hospitals are back at the bar- gaining table once again mobilizing for safe patient care. Hospital executives may have forgotten, but nurses haven't: We know that when we stand together and fight for our patients, there's nothing we can't win. NYSNA members are calling on New York City's wealthiest hospitals to do their part to protect vulnerable patients and the safety-net facilities that will bear the brunt of Trump's looming health care cuts. But instead of listening to frontline caregivers, wealthy private hospitals are using Trump's cuts as an excuse to roll back the safe staffing victories nurses won when we flexed our power three years ago. While nurses fight to save health care for our patients and their communities, New York City's private hospitals have cut front- line staff and services and invested in outrageous executive pay and untested arti- ficial intelligence technologies. CEOs at three of New York City's wealthi- est hospitals, Montefiore, Mount Sinai, and NewYork-Presbyterian, now make, on aver- age, nearly 12,000 percent more than the registered nurses on the front lines caring for patients. And Mount Sinai recently shelled out a whopping $100 million on just one A.I. facility. The bottom line: New York City's private hospitals can afford to put patients first. With union contracts expiring on Dec. 31, nurses are turning up the pressure to demand that hospitals prioritize patients over profits. From Brooklyn to the Bronx, hundreds of nurses at New York City private hospitals held two solid weeks of action with rallies and speak-outs in October and November. Nurses were joined by dozens of community allies and elected leaders. On Nov. 18, the New York City Council held an oversight hearing on the state of nursing. Over 200 nurses and allies packed the steps of City Hall for a press conference and rally ahead of the hearing, where dozens of NYSNA nurses testified to sound the alarm on the current conditions at New York City's private hospitals. Nurses urged lawmakers to support their demand that New York City private-sector hospitals invest in safe patient care rather than executive pay and risky speculation on artificial intelligence. More than 20 nurses testified about the need to enforce safe staffing, defend our patients' access to care, protect nurses from workplace violence, cre- ate safeguards on A.I., and negotiate fair wages and benefits to recruit and retain nurses. After months of bargaining, hospital management is still refusing to settle fair union contracts that protect nurses and patients. In fact, management has been dragging their feet, and several hospitals have refused to put forward economic pro- posals. NYSNA nurses are fed up. That's why, across New York City, NYSNA nurses signed strike pledge cards to send a clear message to management that they won't back down until they win the fair contracts that nurses and patients deserve. Now, as the three-year anniversary of the historic New York City strike approaches, 20,000 nurses at all 12 of New York City's unionized private hospitals are holding strike authorization votes. A yes vote authorizes NYSNA's bargaining committees to call for a strike if a contract isn't reached by the Dec. 31 deadline. Nurses never want to strike—it's always a last resort. And NYSNA nurses will continue to do every- thing within their power to settle a fair contract. —Kristi Barnes NEWS BRIEFS New York City nurses are ready

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