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2025 Nurse Strikes: Complete List of Active and Planned Strikes

Written By: Brandy Pinkerton

RN, Travel Nurse

13 Min Read Published September 11, 2025

Current Nurse Strikes:
Pending Nurse Strikes:
Recently Passed Nursing Strikes:
Reasons Nurses Strike

2025 Nurse Strikes: Complete List of Active and Planned Strikes

Recent years have shown a significant rise in nursing strikes, with more and more nurses utilizing their unionizations to fight for better pay and safer working conditions for both patients and staff.

Here's where the nursing strikes are currently standing in 2025.

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Current Nurse Strikes:

MercyHealth East Clinic (Janesville, Wisconsin): More than 130 nurses and other healthcare workers (UAW Local 95) have been striking for a month over pay, working conditions, and affordable healthcare. Management claims patient care is unaffected, while union members highlight persistent workplace and economic issues.
Henry Ford Genesys Hospital (Grand Blanc, MI): Hundreds of nurses, represented by Teamsters Local 332, have been on strike since September 1, 2025, after deadlocked talks over nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, pay, and contract terms. Nurses are demanding enforceable staffing ratios and safer conditions, with union leaders emphasizing the risks posed by understaffing to both nurses and patients. Hospital leadership insists it has made a fair, competitive offer and is relying on contract nurses to maintain care; negotiations remain ongoing, with no immediate resolution in sight

Pending Nurse Strikes:

UC San Diego Health (California): recent labor actions involving service and technical workers (including patient care roles). In July 2025, AFSCME members staged a 24-hour strike over layoffs, affecting nursing assistants and senior nurse aides. In August, union members—including nurses—held a statewide day of action urging management to resolve ongoing contract negotiations and address concerns about staffing, job security, and workplace safety. Contract talks are active and tensions remain high, though no new mass strike is currently scheduled.

Twin Cities and Duluth Hospitals (Minnesota): Nurses at several hospitals in the Twin Cities and Duluth areas have held informational pickets and are bargaining for new contracts. Their contracts have expired, and if negotiations do not progress, a strike could be called in the coming months.
Pittsburgh. Magee Women’s Hospital (Pennsylvania): have recently made headlines by voting to unionize, marking one of the largest nurse labor actions in Pennsylvania in a decade. While advanced practitioners prepare for their own upcoming vote, the unionization effort reflects widespread calls for better staffing, workplace conditions, and patient safety. There is no active strike at the hospital; care continues uninterrupted as negotiations begin for improved standards.
UCSF Health (California): Early summer 2025 saw labor unrest at UCSF Health, especially at UCSF Children’s Hospital. The NUHW called off a planned strike after management announced 200 system-wide layoffs. Nurses and allied health staff continue to advocate for strong union contracts, with bargaining and possible action pending as many contracts are set to expire in October 2025.
Northern Maine Medical Center (Fort Kent, Maine) and at Houlton Regional Hospital (Houlton, Maine): voted on September 4, 2025, to authorize strikes amid ongoing contract negotiations. While no specific strike dates are set yet, the votes allow union leaders to call a strike if progress is not made on issues like staffing, wages, and working conditions in the coming weeks.
Kaiser Permanente Oakland & Roseville Medical Centers (California): more than 600 certified nurse midwives and nurse anesthetists at Kaiser Permanente Oakland and Roseville will hold a one-day strike from 7 a.m. September 8 to 7 a.m. September 9, 2025, citing concerns over unsafe staffing, burnout, and contract negotiations. Union members are calling for their first-ever contracts addressing staffing levels, pay, and workplace conditions, with picketing at both Oakland and Roseville locations throughout the day.
Jersey Shore University Medical Center (NJ): Nearly 1,700 nurses have authorized a strike over staffing ratios and pay; a walkout could happen any time with 10 days’ notice if no contract is reached.
St. Luke’s Hospital (MA): Nurses will hold an informational picket on September 17 to bring attention to staffing and wage concerns as contract negotiations drag on.
Temple University Hospital (PA): Nurses and caregivers are preparing for a strike authorization vote due to concerns about workplace violence, staffing, and pay; informational picketing has already occurred.
Howard Brown Health (IL): Nurses have voted to authorize a strike, citing issues with pay, benefits, staffing, and patient safety. No walkout has been called yet.
Oregon Health & Science University (OR): Over 3,000 OHSU nurses are voting on whether to authorize a strike over pay and staffing; a strike could follow if negotiations break down.
St. Michael Medical Center (WA): Nurses and support staff plan an informational picket for September 29 to protest slow contract negotiations and staffing.

Recently Passed Nursing Strikes:

West Anaheim Medical Center (California): Nurses are set to hold a one-day strike on August 12, 2025, to protest management’s refusal to address persistent nurse turnover and concerns over patient safety and staffing levels. The strike, organized by the California Nurses Association, aims to pressure hospital leadership to invest in retaining experienced staff, adhere to legal nurse-to-patient ratios, and ensure safer working conditions for both patients and nurses. Contract negotiations have stalled after months of talks, with management declaring an impasse despite nurses’ calls for improved workplace standards.
Butler Hospital (Rhode Island): The strike at Butler Hospital ended August 18, 2025 . On July 29–30, striking union members voted overwhelmingly (98%) to reject the hospital management’s “last, best, and final” contract offer, citing concerns over low wage proposals for support staff, increased healthcare deductibles, and other working conditions. The hospital has responded by closing dozens of beds, posting openings for permanent replacements, and freezing wages and healthcare benefits for striking staff. Negotiations are at a standstill as workers seek improved safety, higher pay, and better returning rights for those out on workers’ comp. The strike is now the longest hospital strike in Rhode Island’s history and shows no signs of immediate resolution the nurses’ strike at Butler Hospital in Rhode Island is still ongoing, with no agreement reached between union members and hospital management. The hospital has begun hiring permanent replacements for striking workers, and some strikers have returned to work, but most remain on the picket line demanding better wages, safety, and staffing. Negotiations continue, but the situation remains unresolved.
Magee Women’s Hospital nurses in Pittsburgh: have recently made headlines by voting to unionize, marking one of the largest nurse labor actions in Pennsylvania in a decade. While advanced practitioners prepare for their own upcoming vote, the unionization effort reflects widespread calls for better staffing, workplace conditions, and patient safety. There is no active strike at the hospital; care continues uninterrupted as negotiations begin for improved standards.

Essentia Health Facilities (Minnesota): As of July 31, 2025, The strike by acute care nurses and advanced practice providers at several Duluth and Superior hospitals and Essentia Health clinics is no longer active as of late July 2025. Both the clinic workers and advanced practice providers, represented by the Minnesota Nurses Association, ended their strike and began returning to work starting July 22–23, 2025. The two-week (for nurses) and 13-day (for advanced practice providers) strike brought attention to ongoing contract disputes over staffing and working conditions.Negotiations between the union and Essentia Health are still ongoing, and while the strike itself has concluded, some returning workers have reported delays in being scheduled back into their roles due to the hospital retaining temporary staff for several days after the strike officially ended. Despite this, the strike action itself is not currently active, and both union members and management are continuing to work toward a contract resolution advanced practice providers (including nurse practitioners and physician assistants) across 69 Essentia Health facilities in Northern Minnesota began an open-ended unfair labor practice strike. Acute care nurses at several Duluth and Superior hospitals and clinics joined the strike on July 8, 2025, after months of unsuccessful contract negotiations.
Hospice East Bay, CA: Hospice nurses and clinical staff held a one-day strike on July 29, 2025, at their Pleasant Hill headquarters, protesting unresolved contract negotiations and rising patient caseloads. Nearly 80 workers—nurses, chaplains, social workers, and more—walked off the job to demand stronger staffing protections and safer workloads as the organization faces affiliation with a national hospice chain. Negotiations are ongoing, and the strike highlighted the staff’s concerns about patient care quality and labor standards.
Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, MD: launched a one-day strike today, July 24, 2025, following 18 months of contract negotiations that failed to produce an agreement. The primary issues at stake are staffing levels and patient safety, with nurses advocating for improved working conditions to ensure quality care. One-day action concluded; nurses have returned as negotiations proceed, but a contract resolution is still pending.
University Medical Center (New Orleans, LA): Nurses represented by the National Nurses Organizing Committee (an affiliate of National Nurses United), began a two-day strike on July 15, marking the hospital’s fourth nursing strike in less than a year. The walkout involves around 600 nurses and centers on concerns over staffing levels, workplace safety, and ongoing contract negotiations. Nurses and union leaders have cited persistent challenges that have led to repeated labor actions at the facility.

Chestnut Hill Hospital (Pennsylvania) – A threatened strike at Chestnut Hill Hospital has been averted. On June 27, 2025, PASNAP nurses and technicians voted to ratify a new contract with Temple Health, reaching an agreement just days before the planned July 4 strike date. Hospital operations remain uninterrupted, and the new contract is now in effect .
Macomb Hospital (Michigan): launched a 3 day strike at a 288-bed tertiary teaching facility in Mount Clemens, Michigan. The union, representing 700 nurses and support staff, took action to protest issues such as unsafe staffing levels, workplace conditions, and wage concerns. The walkout underscored ongoing tensions between hospital management and frontline healthcare workers over working conditions and patient care priorities.
Henry Ford Rochester Hospital (Michigan): The strike began on June 9 and is scheduled to last three days, ending on the morning of June 12. The hospital has brought in replacement nurses to cover shifts during the strike.
Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital Plymouth: 420 registered nurses gave official notice to BID administration that they will be holding a vote to authorize a three-day strike and conducting an informational picket outside the Plymouth Public Library on Thursday, March 20th. Both events culminate a month’s long effort to convince BID management of the need for significant improvements in staffing, along with other provisions in a new union contract to allow the facility to recruit and retain the staff needed to provide safer patient care. (Update) As of June 5, 2025 , no strike has been scheduled by the registered nurses at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth, despite their overwhelming vote on March 20 to authorize a potential three-day strike. The nurses, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), are still engaged in contract negotiations with hospital management. As of June 10, 2025, the nurses have ratified a new contract, and no strike is scheduled or active. Contract negotiations have concluded with an agreement that aims to address the nurses.
UnityPoint Health-Meriter (Madison, WI): Hundreds of nurses at UnityPoint Health-Meriter in Madison, Wisconsin, represented by SEIU, ended a five-day strike on June 1, 2025, after contract talks stalled over staffing, safety, and compensation concerns. The union is demanding better pay, enforceable nurse-to-patient ratios, and improved security measures, while hospital management says contingency plans are in place to maintain patient care during the strike.
Orange County, CA (West Anaheim Medical Center): A group of health care workers ended a 5 day strike, citing low pay and high turnover.
PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center (Washington): Two out of three staff unions in Bellingham have announced a five-day strike starting Monday, May 12 and concluded at 7 a.m. on Saturday, May 17, 2025 amid ongoing contract negotiations. The main issues driving the strike are increased health insurance costs, subpar wages, and concerns about respect and working conditions.
Long Beach Medical Center & Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital & Alhambra Hospital Medical Center (CA): Up to 2,000 nurses are set to strike for 24 hours starting May 22, 2025, protesting unsafe working conditions and inadequate staffing. The strike is expected to impact emergency, ICU, and pediatric care.
Western New York Nursing Homes: Nearly 1,000 nursing home workers represented by 1199SEIU began a seven-day strike on May 20, 2025, at five for-profit facilities near Buffalo, New York: Absolut Care of Gasport, Elderwood at Lockport, Elderwood at Williamsville, Garden Gate Manor, and NorthGate Manor. The workers are protesting unfair labor practices, including bad faith bargaining, low wages, and inadequate benefits. The strike follows months of stalled contract negotiations and will continue until May 27, with caregivers walking picket lines daily from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Settlements were reached at six other facilities, narrowing the strike to these five locations.
Southeast Michigan Nursing Homes: Over 300 SEIU Healthcare of Michigan members held a 24-hour strike on May 20, 2025, at five Ciena Healthcare nursing facilities in Southeast Michigan, demanding better pay, benefits, and staffing. Workers have been without contracts for months and say the strike was necessary to push for fair wages, paid sick time, and improved working conditions.

University Medical Center New Orleans (UMCNO): began a one-day strike on May 1, 2025, marking their third walkout since contract negotiations started over a year ago. Represented by the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United, nearly 600 nurses are striking to demand stronger protections against workplace violence, improved staffing, and fairer wages.

Geisinger Health System’s Luzerne County: Previously from February 17 to February 21, 2025, involved approximately 800 nurses from three Luzerne County facilities in Pennsylvania. The five-day strike was organized by SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania to address concerns over understaffing, low pay, affordable healthcare, and workplace safety. Affected facilities included Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre, and Geisinger Healthplex CenterPoint. Negotiations between the union and Geisinger management resumed on February 19, during the strike. Although nurses returned to work on February 22.
CRONA Nurses Strike: The Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement (CRONA) has announced a strike starting April 25, 2025. Over 5,000 nurses at Stanford and Packard hospitals will participate due to unresolved contract negotiations after 13 weeks of bargaining.
University of California System Strike: A one-day strike is occurring today, April 1, 2025, involving over 20,000 healthcare, research, and technical professionals across the UC system. Organized by the University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE) and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), this strike addresses issues such as staffing shortages, unfair labor practices, and increased healthcare costs without negotiation. The action affects all UC campuses and medical centers statewide
Santa Clara County Health Workers: Nearly 200 clinical lab scientists, microbiologists, and other health workers in Santa Clara County striked March 24 through March 28. This action impacts facilities such as Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and O’Connor Hospital. The strike stems from disputes over labor contract terms and staffing policies
University of California healthcare: Approximately 20,000 University of California healthcare, research, and technical employees began a three-day strike on February 26, 2025, across multiple UC campuses and medical centers. The strike, organized by UPTE-CWA Local 9119, aims to address issues such as unfair labor practices, inadequate staffing, and demands for higher wages, while UC denies claims of a staffing crisis and states it has offered improved compensation.
Providence Health & Services: After 46 days on the picket line and more than a year of negotiations, nearly 5,000 frontline nurses represented by the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) have secured a historic win. All eight registered nurse bargaining units at Providence hospitals overwhelmingly ratified new contracts, ending the strike and establishing new standards for wages, staffing, and patient safety in one of Oregon's largest healthcare systems. In a significant move that could reshape labor dynamics in Oregon, the state Senate has passed a bill allowing striking workers to receive unemployment benefits. This legislation marks a notable shift in how the state approaches labor disputes and could have far-reaching implications for nurses and healthcare workers who may engage in strikes.
University Medical Center (UMC): Experienced its second strike by nurses on February 5-6, 2025. The two-day strike in New Orleans, organized by the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU), involved more than 600 nurses advocating for improved staffing levels and workplace safety measures. UMC management implemented a three-day lockout of striking nurses, extending through Super Bowl weekend but returned to work after.

Reasons Nurses Strike

Nurses go on strike for many systemic reasons including, but not limited to, inadequate pay, unsafe working conditions, and unsafe staffing ratios. Often, with the assistance of their union, nurses work to negotiate contracts with their employers. Oftentimes, nurses are able to negotiate a better contract without the need to go on strike.

However, sometimes negotiations reach a standstill, with neither party reaching an agreement. When this happens, nurses protest by refusing to go to work until agreeable terms are met.

In particular, safer nurse-to-patient staffing ratios have been at the forefront of concerns that have driven recent nursing strike authorizations across the country.

According to the 2023 State of Nursing Report conducted by Nurse.org, 91% of nurses believe the nursing shortage is getting worse and that burnout, poor working conditions, and inadequate pay are the primary causes. In addition, 79% of nurses said their units are inadequately staffed and 71% said that improving staffing ratios would have the greatest impact on the nursing shortage.

Nurses are becoming more vocal about these feelings and experiences and are choosing to take action through striking.