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.
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.
FILE - Nurses and their supporters strike in front of NewYork-Presbyterian hospital in New York, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, file)
SODA SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) — Crews hope to resume efforts Friday to recover the bodies of eight people killed and one still missing in an avalanche in California's Sierra Nevada after days of dangerous weather that has hampered safe access to the area.
Authorities, meanwhile, are looking into the decision to follow through with the backcountry ski trip despite severe weather advisories. They're investigating whether anything would be considered criminal negligence, said Ashley Quadros, a spokesperson with the Nevada County Sheriff’s office. She declined on Friday to share more, saying it’s an open investigation.
Six of the people who died on the trip organized by a tour company were part of a close-knit group of friends who were experienced backcountry skiers and knew how to navigate the alpine wilderness, their families said Thursday. The three others who are dead or presumed dead were guides.
“We are devastated beyond words,” the families said in a statement released through a spokesperson. The women were mothers, wives and friends who “connected through the love of the outdoors,” they said, and were carrying avalanche safety equipment and prepared for backcountry travel.
The six were identified as Carrie Atkin, Liz Clabaugh, Danielle Keatley, Kate Morse, Caroline Sekar and Kate Vitt, and they lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, in Idaho and in the Lake Tahoe area. The families asked for privacy while they grieve.
The names of the other victims have not been released.
Two from the group of friends survived and were rescued along with four others, including a guide.
Avalanche warnings were set to expire early Friday, and drier and milder conditions were predicted for the weekend, according to the Sierra Avalanche Center.
The slide is the deadliest in the U.S. since 1981, when 11 climbers were killed on Mount Rainier in Washington state.
The 15 skiers began their three-day trip Sunday, just as warnings about the storm were intensifying. By early Tuesday, officials cautioned that avalanches were expected.
What the guides and their tour company knew about the warnings and why they pressed on is now part of investigations by local authorities and a state agency that regulates workplace safety.
Avalanche safety experts say it is not uncommon for backcountry skiers to go out when there is an avalanche watch or even a warning.
Blackbird Mountain Guides, which was leading the expedition, said the guides who were on the trek were trained or certified in backcountry skiing and were instructors with the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education. While in the field, guides “are in communication with senior guides at our base, to discuss conditions and routing based upon conditions,” founder Zeb Blais said in a statement.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said some of his wife's “old family friends” were on the trip. The Newsoms have a home in Marin County, where some of the people on the trip lived. His office did not immediately provide more details.
“These were some experienced guides that were out there, and that’s what’s even more concerning and disturbing,” he said at a news conference Thursday.
Sekar and Clabaugh were sisters, their brother, McAlister Clabaugh, told The New York Times. Sekar was a mother of two who lived in San Francisco, and Liz Clabaugh worked for St. Luke’s Health System in Boise, Idaho, according to her LinkedIn page.
Vitt lived in San Francisco and worked previously at SiriusXM and Pandora, according to her LinkedIn page. The Kentfield School District sent an email to families Wednesday saying that her two sons “are safe and are with their father, Geoff, as they navigate this profound loss,” according to The New York Times.
Atkin lived with her husband and two children and was a former corporate executive and Division I Track & Field athlete, according to her leadership coaching website.
Some members of the group had ties to the elite Sugar Bowl Academy, a private boarding and day school for competitive skiers and snowboarders whose former students include multiple Olympians.
One of the victims was married to a member of a backcountry search and rescue team in the area, Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo said.
Watson reported from San Diego, and Golden from Seattle. Associated Press writers John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana; R.J. Rico in Atlanta; and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed.
Adrián Narayan digs his car out of the snow Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Soda Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Snow comes down on a dog as traffic is backed up and motorists exit their vehicles along interstate 80 during a storm Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, near Soda Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
A California Highway Patrol vehicle is parked along a road during a snow storm Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, in Placer County, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Snow is plowed in front of businesses during a snow storm Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, in Soda Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
