Bronx Nurses Say Strike Aims to End Hallway Care, Press Hospitals on Safe-Staffing and Benefits
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Summary
Two nurse practitioners who picketed as part of the citywide nurses' strike said the walkout — which began 01/12/2026 and involves about 15,000 nurses citywide — seeks enforceable safe-staffing ratios, relief from emergency-department overcrowding and protection of health benefits while negotiations continue with a mediator.
Roxanna Garcia, a nurse practitioner at Montefiore, and Hilda Haines Lewis, PhD, an adult nurse practitioner, told BronxNet’s Open that the ongoing New York City nurses’ strike — which started on Jan. 12, 2026 — is focused on patient safety and staffing, not only wage demands.
"Our emergency room is notoriously small," Garcia said, describing emergency-department overcrowding at Montefiore and saying patients are sometimes admitted to hallway beds with only curtains for privacy. "Patients should have a bed, a room, a bathroom, and a door, not a curtain and a TV in the hallway," she said.
The nurses said they want explicit safe-staffing language in contracts, with accountability so management faces consequences when required staffing levels are not met. Haines Lewis said the strike seeks to restore dignity for patients and to ensure nurses can provide care in a safe environment.
Both guests described the negotiation process as ongoing and mediated. "We have our NYSNA executive council committee working with the mediator and working with management," one guest said, adding that meetings with mediators and hospital management continue but no final agreement has been signed. The host noted that the union reported tentative agreements preserving benefits at two hospitals but said a final signed contract was still outstanding.
The nurses urged community support to sustain the strike. Garcia encouraged listeners to come to picket lines, contact elected officials and support a hardship fund she said exists for striking nurses who do not get paid. "We do not get paid while we are on strike," she said, and added that some colleagues at other hospitals risk losing health insurance at the end of the month.
They also criticized hospitals’ use of agency or "traveling" nurses during the strike. "Traveling nurses on average get paid anywhere from $8,000 to $9,000 a week," one guest said, and estimated that if hospitals are hiring those nurses to replace large numbers of strikers, the weekly cost can reach into the tens of millions — a point the speakers used to challenge hospital statements that they lack funds to meet nurses' wage demands.
The nurses said they have offered concrete proposals to relieve capacity problems, including repurposing closed units and converting office space back to patient rooms and holding areas rather than building new facilities.
The guests tied the strike to broader labor concerns: one said striking now is part of defending union power in the face of what they described as concerted management resistance. The segment closed with resources for listeners: the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) and a Montefiore nurses account were cited for organizing and updates.
The bargaining process remains active; nurses said mediation is ongoing and community support continues while no final, signed citywide agreement has been announced.
