I’m a nurse on strike in NYC, because patient care has become unsafe.

Over 15,000 NYC nurses are standing together for safe staffing, protection from violence, and healthcare coverage.

This is day 26 of the longest nurses’ strike in the city’s history — and there’s no end in sight.

Nurses are being asked to care for patients without safe staffing, without healthcare, and without protection — so we are standing up.

As of February 6th, I am on day 26 of the longest and largest nurses’ strike in New York City history. More than 15,000 nurses are on strike because the conditions we are being asked to work under are unsafe — for our patients and for us. This decision was not made lightly. It was made because safe care requires nurses to have a voice.

Why I’m Asking for Support

Our union, NYSNA, has been negotiating in good faith since October 2025 to secure a fair contract. We did not choose to strike lightly. We are here because patient safety, nurse safety, and basic dignity at work have been ignored for too long.

What are we asking for?

First and foremost: safe staffing. Safe for patients and safe for nurses. No nurse should be caring for three or four critically ill patients in an ICU. Because there are no safe staffing ratios, nurses have to absorb the patient workload every single day. This is not safe care — and it’s happening every day.

We are also asking for real protections against workplace violence. Violence in healthcare is not rare — it is routine. I have yet to meet a nurse who hasn’t been punched, kicked, shoved, slapped, assaulted (verbally, physically, sexually), groped, or threatened by a patient, visitor, or stranger. We are asking for systems that protect us while we care for others.

We are asking for our healthcare benefits — something that feels almost unbelievable to say. On January 1, 2026, our contract expired, and with it, our healthcare coverage. Nurses without health insurance. Let that sink in.

And finally, we are asking for wages that reflect the cost of living in New York City, where rent, food, transportation, and education continue to rise.

As I write this, it is freezing, a blizzard is forecasted, and it’s week 4 of the strike. Bills don’t pause for strikes. Rent, utilities, groceries, and tuition are still due (and yes — I’m currently enrolled in a master’s nursing program). Rubbing nickels to make ends meet.

I’m asking for help to get through this moment. Any donation — no matter the size — will go toward food, utilities, tuition, and rent while we continue fighting for safer care for our patients and humane working conditions for nurses.

If you can donate, share, or simply send support, it truly means more than I can say.

Thank you for standing with nurses.