Nurses at three Mount Sinai facilities voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to ratify a new three-year contract, officially bringing an end to a nearly five-week strike that has gripped the city’s healthcare system.

The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) announced that union members at Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai West, and Mount Sinai Morningside approved the agreement by a wide margin. According to voting results released by the union for the Morningside and West campuses, 1,584 nurses voted in favor of the contract, with only 61 voting against.

Following the ratification, Mount Sinai Health System CEO Dr. Brendan Carr confirmed that the strike has concluded and outlined the timeline for resuming normal operations.

“I am pleased to share that our nurses… have voted overwhelmingly to ratify new three-year contracts, ending the nearly five-week strike by NYSNA and beginning the process of bringing our nurses back to work,” Dr. Carr wrote in a message to staff on Wednesday.

While the agreement signals the end of the work stoppage, the return to full staffing will be gradual. Nurses are scheduled to return to the bedside starting with the morning shift on Saturday, Feb. 14.

“It is important to understand that the return-to-work process will not be instantaneous and will evolve over the next several days,” Dr. Carr stated.
In a statement to its members, NYSNA celebrated the ratification as a victory for the workforce after weeks on the picket line. “After all the long hours, the tireless energy you put into your picket line, the courage it took for you to walk out there to fight for what you deserve, we have finally made it to the finish line,” the union wrote.

The developments at Mount Sinai mark a major shift in the citywide labor dispute, though the situation remains fluid elsewhere. Results are still pending for the ratification vote involving nurses at Montefiore Medical Center. Meanwhile, voting is currently underway for nurses at New York-Presbyterian.

For the nurses at Mount Sinai, however, the focus now shifts to returning to the hospital floors this weekend.

“We can’t wait to see everyone back in action and kick off the weekend with great energy,” the union stated.