Nearly 15,000 New York City nurses have been striking since January 12, leaving operations at several major private hospitals severely reduced or altogether shuttered. Newly minted Mayor Zohran Mamdani joined the striking nurses on the picket line, blaming wealthy hospital executives for a health care system under strain. But focusing on executive greed misses the deeper cause of the crisis: state policies that restrict competition, limit workforce flexibility, and help create the conditions nurses are protesting.
The strike was called by the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), a union representing 42,000 nurses statewide, after contract negotiations with Montefiore, Mount Sinai, and NewYork-Presbyterian medical centers broke down over concerns about low wages, reduced benefits, workplace violence, and staffing shortages.
