There’s something about nurses that makes you wonder. How do they carry the weight of the world? And how do they still show up every day?
Thursday marks day 18 of the New York City nurses’ strike. The end still feels far off. The nurses weren’t letting the snow—or anything else—slow them down.
They returned to the picket lines outside Montefiore, NewYork-Presbyterian, and Mount Sinai. They demanded safer workplaces and better staffing. They also sought protection against violence.
But this day wasn’t just about their own conditions. Local congress members joined the nurses. They also demanded that ICE stay out of hospitals. This would ensure immigrant patients can seek care without fear.
“We are horrified by ICE interfering with patient care in California. They are also canvassing parking lots in Chicago,” said Mount Sinai nurse Lillian Espinoza. “The fear of encountering ICE already caused our patients to delay or stop seeking care.”
Negotiations continue. Hospitals are meeting with mediators to craft a proposal to present to the union Friday. So far, staffing ratios, ER expansions, hallway beds, wages, and workplace violence protections remain unresolved.
Mount Sinai emphasized that they have policies for nurses to disengage safely from law enforcement, including ICE. A spokesperson framed the union’s concerns as a “distraction from economic negotiations.”
But the nurses weren’t there to argue policies—they were there to stand up for patients and for themselves. Later Thursday evening, they will gather at the VA New York Harbor Healthcare Center for a vigil honoring Alex Pretti, the VA nurse tragically killed in Minneapolis by border control agents.
In a city that never sleeps, the nurses are reminding us. Sometimes the bravest heroes are the ones holding the signs. They are not just the ones with the stethoscopes.
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