Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a rally with the New York State Nurses Affiliation outdoors Mount Sinai West Hospital in Manhattan on Jan. 20, 2026 — the ninth day of the continuing nurses strike.
Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
Tuesday, Jan. 20, marks the twentieth day of Zohran Mamdani’s time period as mayor. New York News is following Mamdani round his first 100 days in workplace as we intently monitor his progress on fulfilling marketing campaign guarantees, appointing key leaders to authorities posts, and managing town’s funds. Right here’s a abstract of what the mayor did at the moment.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders joined hanging nurses on the picket line within the bitter chilly outdoors Manhattan’s Mount Sinai West on Tuesday morning as the most important nursing strike in New York Metropolis historical past entered its ninth day.
Hizzoner and Sanders joined the New York State Nurses Affiliation (NYSNA), the union representing practically 15,000 hanging nurses throughout town, at Mount Sinai West at 1000 tenth Ave. in biting arctic temperatures to make their voices heard. The group braved real-feel temperatures of 5° F to show up the warmth on hospital executives after negotiations broke down final week.
Mount Sinai is one in all three hospital teams concerned within the strike together with Montefiore and New York-Presbyterian. Negotiations between NYSNA and New York-Presbyterian and Mount Sinai have been revived final week, however the talks stalled on Friday, holding nurses again on the picket line.
Labor: Mamdani seeks ‘fair contract’ for nurses
Mamdani, who joined nurses on the primary day of the strike final week, mentioned the continuing strike is about “safe working conditions.”
“This is about a fair contract. This is about dignity,” Mamdani mentioned. “Wherever I go in New York City, I hear about the plight of our nurses. … Now is your time of need, where we can ensure that this is a city you don’t just work in, but a city you can also live in.”
Mamdani additional asserted that the continuing strike is “not about compensation,” however reasonably seeks to “recognize the worth of every single nurse in New York City.”
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders joined Mayor Mamdani at Mount Sinai West Hospital on Jan. 20, 2026, to assist NYC nurses on strike.Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
NYSNA has referred to as on hospitals to conform to its calls for for protected staffing ratios, protections in opposition to office violence, and no cuts to healthcare advantages.
Though NYSNA and elected officers contend that the strike is just not a few pay enhance, hospital executives have argued that the calls for would quantity to a big pay enhance.
The three hospital teams concerned within the strike have described NYSNA’s calls for as “unreasonable,” with Montefiore stating Monday that the union’s calls for have been “reckless” and more likely to value $3.6 billion.
Mount Sinai CEO Brendan Carr mentioned Monday {that a} “near-term path to an agreement is very unlikely” after negotiations broke down final week, including that no new conferences are presently scheduled.
New York-Presbyterian, in the meantime, mentioned NYSNA’s calls for equate to an approximate 25% pay enhance, which the hospital group mentioned would quantity to a greater than $2 billion incremental enhance over the subsequent three years.
“NYSNA’s demands ignore the economic realities of healthcare in New York City and the country,” a New York-Presbyterian official instructed New York News.
Sanders, nevertheless, mentioned New York-Presbyterian is presently paying its CEO, Steven Corwin, an annual wage of $26 million and that the hospital group may afford to satisfy NYSNA’s calls for. Equally, he mentioned, Montefiore and Mount Sinai are paying their CEOS tens of millions of {dollars} in annual salaries.
“Don’t tell me you can’t treat nurses with dignity when you’re spending hundreds of millions of dollars on traveling nurses,” Sanders mentioned. “People in this country are sick and tired of greed. They’re tired of drug companies ripping us off, of insurance companies ripping us off, and of hospital executives getting huge salaries.”
The hanging nurses braved real-feel temperatures of 5° F to show up the warmth on hospital executives after negotiations broke down final week. Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
Mount Sinai mentioned final week that it has employed 1,400 “qualified and specialized” nurses to interchange union nurses at some point of the strike. Carr mentioned the hospital group has carried out quite a few organ transplants and cardiac surgical procedures regardless of ongoing workers disruptions and forecasted that hanging nurses’ return to work will possible be delayed by a number of days or perhaps weeks as a consequence of current staffing commitments.
“These are difficult truths, but decisions that have been made in the interest of ensuring the Health System’s operational and financial health,” Carr mentioned Monday. “We would very much like to have our nursing partners back at the bedside as soon as possible.”
New York-Presbyterian accused NYSNA of trying to “cause disruption” by means of the strike however mentioned its hospitals proceed to just accept new sufferers.
On Tuesday, Mamdani referred to as on all events to return to the bargaining desk, stating that nurses had gone on strike as a “last resort” and would like to return to work if their situations are met.
“When we see a strike, people forget that that is not where workers want to be. A strike is an act of last resort. Workers want to be back at work,” Mamdani mentioned to large cheers. “I call on every side to come back to the negotiating table.”
Mamdani, nevertheless, mentioned he would stand by hanging nurses regardless of how lengthy it takes.
“No matter what day it is, we will be here with you,” Mamdani mentioned.
New York-Presbyterian officers mentioned the hospital group is working with mediators to schedule the subsequent bargaining session.
