NYC nurses on strike resume negotiations with hospitals on 4th day

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City nurses on strike resumed negotiations with hospital administrators Thursday to try to bring an end to the city's biggest walkout of its kind in decades.

The New York State Nurses Association said its bargaining members began meeting with their counterparts at NewYork-Presbyterian late Thursday, the fourth day of the strike.

They also plan to sit down with officials at other affected hospitals, including those operated by Mount Sinai and Montefiore, on Friday, though the union said some facilities have not yet agreed to resume talks.

Each medical center is negotiating with the union independently, and not every hospital run by the three health care systems is affected by the strike.

The opposing sides haven’t met since Sunday, the day before roughly 15,000 unionized nurses walked off the job.

Hospitals have hired thousands of temporary nurses to keep emergency rooms and other facilities running.

The nurses say they’re seeking to protect their health care benefits, as well as secure contract provisions addressing staffing levels and safety against workplace violence.

Sheryl Ostroff, a Mount Sinai nurse, said nurses often bear the brunt of patients’ frustrations, and interactions can quickly become violent.

“I’ve been scratched in the face. I have been bitten in multiple places. I have been kicked in the ribs where it leaves bruises, spit on, pushed, punched, sexually assaulted — you name it,” she said at a union rally Thursday. “It’s not acceptable, and we want our hospitals to protect us. Why is that a hard ask?”

The hospitals say the unions are seeking “unrealistic” and unaffordable pay raises.

Mount Sinai says the union's proposals would raise the average annual salary of its nurses from roughly $162,000 to nearly $250,000 in three years, while Montefiore says theirs would rise to $220,000.

The union dismissed the claims as “outlandish math,” but declined to provide countering figures.

“We are committed to keep negotiating for a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our deep respect for our nurses and the critical role they play, and also recognizes the challenging realities of today’s healthcare environment,” NewYork-Presbyterian said in a statement Thursday.

Nurses’ union leaders held a rally alongside elected officials and members of other major city labor unions Thursday in front of Mount Sinai’s Morningside campus.

The hospital, located near Columbia University in upper Manhattan, is among those that have not yet agreed to resume contract talks, according to the union.

Simone Way, a nurse at Mount Sinai Morningside, said she and her fellow nurses have “sounded the alarm for years” about proper staffing levels, but administrators have refused to listen.

“It is incredibly hard to deliver the level of care our patients deserve,” she said at the rally. “There are limits to what good nurses can do.”

A Mount Sinai spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the rally or the status of contract talks.

Brendan Carr, the health system’s CEO, said in a video released earlier Thursday that some unionized nurses who have opted to work instead of joining the picket line have been subjected to harassment and intimidation.

“Bullying, intimidating and threatening devalues nurses, undermines our culture, and is not consistent with our values at Mount Sinai,” he said, addressing hospital staff. “You deserve better.”

The union, which has filed a federal complaint against Mount Sinai for terminating the three nurses on the eve of the strike, dismissed the accusations as “baseless.”

The union also confirmed that its member nurses on Long Island ratified new contracts Thursday with Northwell Health, the state's largest health system.

The deals, which were reached last week and averted strikes at three Long Island hospitals, called for roughly 5% raises in each year of the three-year pact, according to the union.

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Striking nurses demonstrate outside Mt. Sinai Hospital, in New York, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Striking nurses demonstrate outside Mt. Sinai Hospital, in New York, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Striking nurses demonstrate outside Mt. Sinai Morningside Hospital, in New York, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Striking nurses demonstrate outside Mt. Sinai Hospital, in New York, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Striking nurses demonstrate outside Mt. Sinai Morningside Hospital, in New York, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Cutter Gauthier scored twice in a span of just over three minutes in the first period, backup Ville Husso stopped 42 shots and the Anaheim Ducks beat the New York Islanders 5-1 on Wednesday night.

Beckett Sennecke, Ryan Poehling and Frank Vatrano also had goals to help Anaheim to its 13th win in 16 games.

David Rittich had 20 saves for the Islanders, who had their five-game winning streak snapped despite outshooting the Ducks 43-25. Anders Lee scored the 304th goal of his career, tying Clark Gillies for the fourth-most in franchise history.

Husso, who stopped 16 shots in the first period and 13 in both the second and third, had a timely performance amid speculation the Ducks are pursuing a backup goalie behind Lukas Dostal before Friday’s trade deadline.

He turned away a flurry of shots after New York pulled Rittich with 8½ minutes left in the game. Vatrano, who missed the previous 22 games because of an upper-body injury, scored into an empty net with 4:11 remaining to seal Anaheim’s win.

Lee banged the rebound of Tony DeAngelo's shot from near the blue line past Husso for a 1-0 lead 4:58 into the game.

But the Ducks scored three times in the final 7:04 of the period for a 3-1 lead. Gauthier took a pass from Sennecke on a power play and snapped a shot from the left circle past Rittich.

Just 3:09 later, the 22-year-old Swede took a pass from Leo Carlsson and scored from the right circle for his team-leading 31st goal to give the Ducks a 2-1 lead with 3:55 left.

Sennecke snapped the rebound of Ian Moore's shot into a nearly open net from the doorstep for his 20th goal.

The Islanders had erased 2-0 deficits in each of their last three wins, but the Ducks kept them off the board in part by killing three penalties in the second period.

Poehling squeezed a backhand tip-in just past Rittich’s skate and over the goal line 2:11 into the third for his seventh goal and a 4-1 lead for Anaheim.

Ducks: Host Montreal Canadiens on Friday night.

Islanders: At Los Angeles on Thursday night.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL

Anaheim Ducks left wing Cutter Gauthier (61) watches his shot get past New York Islanders goaltender David Rittich for a goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders Wednesday, March 4, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Anaheim Ducks left wing Cutter Gauthier, left, celebrates his goal with teammate right wing Beckett Sennecke during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders Wednesday, March 4, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Anaheim Ducks left wing Cutter Gauthier (61) celebrates his goal with teammate center Leo Carlsson during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders Wednesday, March 4, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

New York Islanders left wing Anders Lee celebrates his goal with teammates during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Anaheim Ducks Wednesday, March 4, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Anaheim Ducks right wing Beckett Sennecke celebrates his goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders Wednesday, March 4, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)