Right now, 30,000 nurses are on strike.

Most are in Southern California. Some in Northern California. Others in Hawaii. And across the country in New York City, nurses at three major hospitals are now on day 25+ of their walkout.

The comments sections are full of people calling these nurses greedy. "They get paid well." "Just move somewhere cheaper." "Be grateful you have a job."

Here's what those people don't understand: This isn't about money. Not really.

We just got back from supporting the nurses in Southern California. A week before that, we were in New York City dropping our daughter off at NYU—right as the strike there was heating up.

What I saw in both places made one thing clear: the system is designed to break nurses down.

But here's the difference that most people don't realize.

In California: When nurses go on strike, they keep their health insurance. They keep their dental. They can't claim unemployment, but the union has been preparing them for months—sometimes a year in advance. Emails go out early: Start saving now. A strike may be coming.

In New York: When nurses go on strike, they lose their health insurance immediately.

Let that sink in.

One of our friends in New York? His wife just delivered at 36 weeks pregnant. They're on COBRA now. You know what COBRA costs for a family of four? About $3,500 a month.

These nurses might qualify for unemployment—around $869 a week—but that's roughly half their income. And it's February. Rent is still due. The hospital executives know this. They're waiting for nurses to break.

Every time nurses strike, the same comments roll in:

"They make good money." "If it's so bad, just leave." "Who's going to take care of patients if you walk out?"

Here's my response: Who's going to take care of patients if there's no nurses left?

The logic is so flawed it makes my head spin.

You want to talk about greed? Let's talk about hospital executives posting record profits while telling nurses there's no budget for safe staffing. Let's talk about management offering $4,500 a year—that's $2 an hour after taxes—as a "solution" to rising insurance premiums, tuition, and wages.

These nurses aren't greedy. They're exhausted. And they're fighting for conditions that benefit patients just as much as themselves.

Let me break down the four main issues:

This is the big one.

I spoke with a union rep who told me she walked onto a unit right before the strike started. Each nurse was assigned 20 patients.

Twenty.

This isn't a typo. This is 2026 and nothing has changed.

When I worked in the ER in New York years ago, I thought these conditions would improve. They haven't. In fact, hospitals signed agreements in prior contracts promising to maintain safe nurse-to-patient ratios. They broke those promises. That's why nurses are striking again.

And here's what travel nurses working the strike are discovering: this isn't a strike problem. This is the norm.

One travel nurse reported receiving a vented patient on a vasopressor drip—on a med-surg floor. That patient should be in ICU or at minimum a step-down unit. These nurses aren't trained to titrate pressors. But that's what they're being asked to do.

The travelers think this is happening because of the strike. No. This is what happens every day. This is exactly why nurses walked out.

In addition to unsafe staffing, nurses are dealing with violent patients and family members. And I'm not talking about the occasional difficult situation. In New York, it's on another level.

Did you see the body cam footage of that patient who locked himself in a room with other patients and had to be shot by police? That happened in a hospital.

In California, after multiple shootings during COVID, our hospitals implemented metal detectors at every entrance. Security officers scan everyone—patients, visitors, staff. If you have a weapon, they hold it until you leave.

That's not happening everywhere. And nurses in New York are demanding better protection.

Nurses want to keep their health insurance without seeing their premiums skyrocket.

Think about what happens when a nurse can't afford to call out sick. They come to work sick. They take care of sick patients while they're sick. And the cycle gets worse.

If hospitals keep pushing costs onto nurses, you're going to see more burnout, more turnover, and worse patient outcomes. This isn't complicated.

Here's what people outside New York don't understand: most nurses there can't afford to live in the city they serve.

I interviewed nurses who live in the outer boroughs—Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Staten Island. Some live in Long Island, Connecticut, even Pennsylvania. They commute 90 minutes each way because they can't afford rent anywhere closer.

One nurse told me her total cost of living is $5,500 a month. She lives in a one-bedroom apartment with her daughter and her mother. A shoebox. And she's still barely making it.

Meanwhile, hospital executives are dragging out negotiations on purpose. They know that once February hits, nurses won't be able to pay rent. They're playing a waiting game—hoping nurses break before they have to give an inch.

Here's something that should scare every nurse watching this situation.

Hospital management in New York is hinting that they might declare an impasse.

What does that mean? It means they're claiming they've negotiated in good faith, the union has negotiated in good faith, and they simply can't reach an agreement.

If that happens, management can start hiring temporary workers long-term—with the goal of making them permanent.

Now, legally, they can't fire you for striking. That's protected under labor law. But here's what they can do: once you come back, they can dig through your charts. Find documentation errors. Claim negligence. And suddenly you're being let go for "performance issues."

It's a tactic. And it's designed to demoralize the union and scare nurses into backing down.

I'm not on the floor anymore, and this still makes me furious.

These nurses are not asking for anything unreasonable. They want to do their jobs safely. They want to be protected from violence. They want health insurance they can actually use. And they want to be paid enough to live in the cities they serve.

That's not greed. That's basic dignity.

If you're a nurse watching this unfold and wondering whether it could happen at your hospital—it can. It might. And the best thing you can do is pay attention, document everything, and know your options.

Because the system isn't going to fix itself.

If you're a nurse:

If you're not a nurse:

Got thoughts? Hit reply—I read every email. And if you know a nurse who needs to hear this, forward it to them.

— Jason

You can keep hoping conditions improve.
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