Nurses and New York hospital system reach a tentative deal to end the
city’s largest nursing strike
[February 21, 2026]
By PHILIP MARCELO and JENNIFER PELTZ
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s largest nursing strike in decades may be
on the verge of ending after a union representing more than 4,000 nurses
in the NewYork-Presbyterian hospital system reached a tentative contract
agreement with management early Friday.
The nurses' union, the New York State Nurses Association, and NewYork-Presbyterian
both said their negotiators have reached a tentative deal. The union
said provisions include raises topping 12% over three years, staffing
improvements and, for the first time, safeguards on the use of
artificial intelligence.
Union members were to vote Friday and Saturday on the proposed contract.
If it's ratified, the nurses will return to work next week at the last
of three major private hospital systems hit by the more than monthlong
walkout.
The roughly 4,200 nurses at NewYork-Presbyterian had picketed during
bitterly cold temperatures in what their union said was the largest and
longest nurse walkout in the city’s history. Union President Nancy
Hagans said the nurses "showed this city that they won’t make any
compromises to patient care.”
“The wins of our private-sector nurses will improve care for patients,
and their perseverance and endurance have shown people worldwide the
power of NYSNA nurses,” she added.
The hospital system said in a statement that it was pleased about a
tentative settlement “that reflects our tremendous respect for our
nurses.”
The strike began Jan. 12 and initially involved NewYork-Presbyterian,
Mount Sinai and Montefiore. About 10,500 Montefiore and Mount Sinai
nurses ratified new three-year contracts on Feb. 11.
The union said those deals also included pay raises of more than 12%
over three years, staffing increases, artificial intelligence
protections, no cuts or cost increases on health benefits, more
safeguards against workplace violence, and other gains.
NewYork-Presbyterian nurses at that point rejected a similar proposal
advanced by mediators.
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Nurses and their supporters strike in front of NewYork-Presbyterian
hospital in New York, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig,
file)
 The union said the new tentative
agreement also preserves health benefits and includes workplace
safety protections; details weren't immediately released. In any
event, comparisons between hospitals' nursing contracts are
complicated because facilities may have different units and other
specifics.
The strike prompted the hospitals to hire legions of temporary
nurses to fill in staffing gaps during a demanding flu season,
raising concerns among some of the hospital system’s most vulnerable
patients and their families.
During a bumpy, contentious negotiation, hospitals complained the
union’s demands were unreasonable and exorbitant. Nurses countered
that top hospital executives make millions of dollars a year while
saddling nurses with unmanageable workloads.
An arbitrator this month awarded nearly $400,000 to some nurses at
NewYork-Presbyterian’s Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital for having
to work while short-staffed in 2023 and 2024, the union said,
heralding the decision as evidence of the problems that prompted the
strike. NewYork-Presbyterian responded that “safe staffing is always
a priority” and that it has hired hundreds of nurses in the last
three years.
The strike did not affect every hospital in the NewYork-Presbyterian,
Mount Sinai and Montefiore systems, and nurses at city-run hospitals
weren't involved. Other private hospitals reached last-minute deals
with the union.
___
Associated Press writer Bruce Shipkowski in Trenton, New Jersey,
contributed.
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