Overview:
At a strike by nurses outside NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia Hospital, Haitian American health care workers describe unsafe working conditions, patient violence and the financial strain of walking off the job. Interviews with emergency room and pediatric nurses, as well as union leadership, the story highlights how labor rights, immigration and family responsibility intersect for Haitian Americans on the front lines of New York City’s health care system.
NEW YORK — In early January, Nancy Hagans was delivering remarks at a cultural event in downtown Brooklyn honoring her service as a nurse when she received the notice.
Another shooting had just occurred at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital about two miles away, Hagans announced to a group gathered at Borough Hall for a Haitian independence celebration. The nurse, president of the New York State nurses association, told the group that such incidents were common in health care workplaces.
To demand stronger protections against workplace violence and address other issues affecting working conditions, Hagans led about 15,000 nurses to the streets on Jan. 12 in the biggest strike of their profession. Their goal is to force better employment terms for nurses after negotiations stalled with 10 private health care systems.
Among the faces calling out for fair contracts at the picket line are those of Haitians like Hagans seen anywhere and everywhere people need care across the city. Long a fixture in the care economy, recent estimates from the Center for Economic and Policy Research put the number of Haitians Americans who work in healthcare at over 20 percent, more than in any other industry. Now, disagreement with management over their contract terms has pushed them to the picket line.
The Haitian Times interviewed several Haitian American nurses, including an emergency room nurse, a pediatric nurse, a union organizer and a nurse practitioner. Hagans, who is leading the charge to negotiate a new contract, has split her time between the negotiating table and the picket line. When the registered nurse does join the rallies, she speaks forcefully to the private hospitals’ management.
Here are a few of their stories.
The emergency room nurse who made it from housekeeping
Andrelle Semexant, 36, poses for a portrait outside NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia Hospital on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026 in Washington Heights, Manhattan. Semexant, an Emergency Room nurse strike, moved to the U.S. from Haiti in 2012. Photo by Allison Hunter for The Haitian Times.
When Andrelle Semexant moved to the U.S. from Haiti in 2012, she sought out a nursing degree to help her build a life helping others. Over time, she worked her way up from housekeeping to Emergency Department nurse at NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia Hospital.
In 2023, she began working as a nurse on the day shift, 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., three days a week. She has been able to take care of her 7-year-old daughter and provide health insurance for the child and her husband.
But in the role, the nurse has had patients lash out at her, including throwing a cup of water in her face, after missing a meal. She said he yelled at her.
“‘You’re supposed to give me food!’’ But, “once breakfast is done, it’s done,” Semexant told him.
While food service is not under her control, she bears the brunt of the patients’ frustration as a staffer on the front lines of a busy emergency department.
Metal detectors at the entrance do not catch all weapons, like those made without metal. And they miss the ones on patients who arrive in an ambulance.
While dealing with such scenarios regularly, where staffers are more likely to get hurt, management at her hospital wants to eliminate the health insurance benefit nurses have always received without charge. With her husband and daughter depending on her for their health insurance, Semexant said they are praying no one gets sick while she’s striking.
“It makes no sense — as a nurse, you’re saying that I don’t have proper health care,” she said.
“If you go [to work] somewhere every day, you deserve to get respect, you deserve to go to work and feel I’m coming back safely,” Semexant said.
Before the strike, Semexant would pick up shifts to help pay expenses, like her college loan, car loan and rent. She also sent money to family back in Haiti.
“Haitians,” she said, “we take care of people back home — they always need a little help here and there.”
The pediatric nurse who plans ahead to afford to strike
Gleenda Stilen, 28, a pediatric nurse at Children’s Hospital of New York with NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia in the Emergency Department. Stilen earned her nursing degree four years ago from the NYU School of Nursing. She lives at home with her family in Hollis, Queens. Photo by Allison Hunterfor The Haitian Times.
Coming to the picket line is not an easy decision. For many people, it requires planning ahead since they are not being paid nor is their health insurance covered while on strike.
Gleenda Stilen is among those who felt the sacrifice is worth it. To prepare for the strike, she paid some bills ahead of time. Still, on day nine of the strike, as the private hospitals had managed to fill roles by hiring nurses temporarily from other states, Stilen voiced concerns.
“If this does prolong, I’m going to have to either dip into some savings or find a per diem job,” she said.
She also has no health insurance while on strike, which concerns her. “I’m very worried about that,” Stilen said. “I had a couple of doctor’s appointments set up and I had to cancel those.”
As a nurse, Stilen thinks it’s especially important she has free health care coverage.
“For us to be paying for our health care, it’s not fair,” she said. “We’re on the front line. We’re dealing with everybody that is sick, the sickest of the sick. For us to get good health benefits is the reason why a lot of people become nurses. Yes, to take care of people, but to also get those benefits.”
The increasing lack of safety also drew her out.
Working in pediatrics means she deals with parents who may take their feelings out on staff. “I’ve been yelled at, I’ve been pushed, I’ve been shoved off of a child and all I’m trying to do is our job to help the child get better or eventually be diagnosed so they can go home.”
As a solution, Stilen would like to see security respond more quickly, “to be right at the bedside in maybe three minutes or less,” she said.
The Nurse Practitioner who has ‘everyone’s back’
Joanne Popotte, executive committee president of the Local Bargaining Unit for the New York State Nurses Associationfrom BronxCare Hospital, poses for a portrait outside NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia Hospital on Monday, January 19, 2026 in Washington Heights, Manhattan. Photo by Allison Hunter for The Haitian Times.
Joanne Popotte, a nurse practitioner, took to the podium on Jan. 19 outside NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia Hospital in Washington Heights. In her other role as executive committee president of the Local Bargaining Unit for the New York State Nurses Association, she shared messages of solidarity with the NYP nurses.
After her speech, Popotte, whose family is from Haiti, spoke about all the nurses with Haitian ties.
“Haitian people are strong. They’re fighters. They’re resilient. They never give up. And that’s what I came out of,” she said.
“Right now, I’m standing with my immigrant community. I’m fighting alongside them. With all that’s happening with the Trump administration, I got their back 150%, and that’s in my blood.”
The nurse at the negotiating table — and the podium
As negotiations continued with the various hospitals, Hagans made stops at the area rallies. On Jan. 20, she was at Mount Sinai West Hospital, flanked by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Sen. Bernie Sanders. Hagans said the health benefits and workplace violence protections they want from Mount Sinai, Montefiore and NewYork-Presbyterian have been granted from safety-net medical centers.
In her speech, Hagans said, “The eight poorest hospitals in New York City have managed to agree to provide workers violence protection. They have agreed to provide benefits, health benefits. They have agreed to improve on staffing. The three richest hospitals in New York City, where the CEOs are making millions, have refused.”
Then, Hagans yelled, “What the hell’s the matter with you?”
Though the question of nurses’ salaries, which are not part of the bargaining discussions, have been reported by local outlets, Hagans made it clear that a pay raise was not their concern.
“We will always negotiate on wages, but we will not cut corners when it comes to our patients’ safety,” she said.
On Jan. 25, the nurses’ union announced the current health benefits would remain effective as a result of negotiations through mediators for Mount Sinai and NewYork-Presbyterian. However, until all agreements are addressed, they wrote, they will resume the strike on Jan. 28, following a two-day pause due to the weekend snowstorm.
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