Immigrant Healthcare Workers Fight for Fair Pay in NYC

86,000 Workers Could Walk Off the Job

Thousands of healthcare workers — many of them immigrants — filled Manhattan's Foley Square wearing purple shirts and chanting for better pay. They are members of 1199SEIU, a union that represents 34.3% of New York's healthcare workforce. Their current contract with the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes of New York (LVHH) — the main bargaining group for hospital management — expires in September 2026. If no deal is reached, up to 86,000 frontline workers at 90 hospitals and nursing homes in downstate New York could go on strike. That would make it the largest hospital strike in New York history.

The union is asking for a 5% annual wage increase for each year of a new four-year contract. LVHH responded with an offer of two 2.5% raises in the first two years and two 1.25% raises in the last two years — far below what workers are demanding. LVHH also said it offered $2.1 billion in new spending on wages and benefits over three years. The union says that offer still falls short. As of June 18, 2026, both sides reached a tentative agreement on workplace safety, but wages remain unresolved. Negotiations are still ongoing.

Many of the workers in this union are immigrants. Lois Innis, a nurse from Guyana who works at a Brooklyn nursing home, described struggling to pay rent and bills between paychecks while handling extra patients due to short staffing. Another Guyanese nurse, Subadai Panchen, said her mental health suffered during the pandemic as she watched patients die — patients she had grown close to. Dominican home care worker Henry Acedo, 62, said workers like him left their own families to care for clients during the pandemic, often putting their lives at risk. None of them feel they were properly paid for that sacrifice.

Why This Matters for Immigrant Workers

Union president Yvonne Armstrong — herself an immigrant from Jamaica — said healthcare cannot exist without healthcare workers. She pointed out that the CEOs of Montefiore, Mount Sinai, and NewYork-Presbyterian together earn more than $42.7 million combined. The union has not yet authorized a strike, and talks continue. But if a deal is not reached before the contract expires in September, tens of thousands of immigrant workers could face a major decision: stay on the job or walk out.

What to Do

• If you are an immigrant worker in a union, know your labor rights. Joining a strike is generally protected activity under US labor law, regardless of your immigration status.
• If you are worried that union activity could affect your immigration case, talk to an immigration lawyer before making any decisions. Many nonprofit legal organizations in NYC offer free or low-cost consultations.
• If your work permit (called an Employment Authorization Document, or EAD) is expiring soon, file your renewal as early as possible. The filing fee for Form I-765 (the EAD application) is $520 in 2026.
• If you are on a work visa like H-1B and your employer's situation changes due to a strike or layoff, act quickly. You may have a limited window to find a new sponsor or change your status. The H-1B extension filing fee is $730 in 2026.