Tensions continue to boil over as thousands of nurses across New York City's three major hospital networks remain on strike for a ninth day.

The picket line of nurses from Mount Sinai, Montefiore, and NewYork-Presbyterian began at 8 a.m. outside Mount Sinai West in Manhattan. The New York State Nurses Association represents roughly 15,000 striking nurses who walked off the job last Monday after contract negotiations stalled.

The nurses are demanding higher pay, an enforceable patient to nurse ratio, fully funded benefits and better workplace protections against violence.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Sen. Bernie Sanders joined nurses to call for all parties to come to the bargaining table.

Nurses say the only way to get them off the line and back into the hospital is to come to an agreement that meets their demands. A NewYork-Presbyterian spokesperson said that the demands “ignore economic realities.”

"Our nurses are among the highest paid in the city, with a current average annual compensation of $163,000, and a current average TOTAL compensation of approximately $233,000 including fringe. NYSNA’s demands remain unrealistic—its latest proposals include an approximately 25% wage increase over three years. NYSNA’s demands ignore the economic realities of healthcare in New York City and the country," the spokesperson said.

NYSNA says the most recent session held with Montefiore on Sunday evening was not productive, as no major progress was made toward settling contracts.

“We are so fortunate to have the support of our community and allies, who truly energize our movement as we picket through the bitter cold. We need hospital management to understand that we are out here fighting for the safety of our patients and nurses, so that every patient can have a qualified nurse at their bedside. Hospital management must take action to maintain our health benefits, guarantee enforceable safe staffing, and make hospitals safer workplaces," said NYSNA President Nancy Hagans.

The hospitals say they have relied on travel nurses to maintain safe operations, which has been a point of contention for full time staff.

"While the NYSNA strike is designed to create disruption, all our hospitals and emergency rooms are open, accepting new patients and continue to provide high quality care. We are caring for patients with needs ranging from routine to delivering babies to highly complex surgeries and transplants. Even during this time of seasonally elevated emergency room visits, our operations are running smoothly," said a spokesperson for NYP.