Linda Silas

Nurse/Infirmière | President of the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions/présidente de la FCSII

[Laszlo Varga @LaszloRealtor]

🚨 MAJOR NYC NURSE STRIKE: 15,000 Unionized Nurses Walk Out at Mount Sinai, Montefiore & NewYork-Presbyterian

At midnight on January 12, 2026, more than 15,000 nurses represented by the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) officially went on strike after contracts expired December 31 and last-minute negotiations over the January 10–11 weekend collapsed.

Picketing lines formed across Manhattan and the Bronx, with major disruptions in Washington Heights and road blockages reported near key hospital entrances.

The central dispute: massive pay demands that would raise average RN total compensation from the current ~$162,000–$164,000/year to $256,000–$275,000 by year 3 (roughly 56–70% increases), including 9%+ annual wage hikes plus staffing premiums and benefit protections.

Hospitals counter that the full package would add $2–3 billion in labor costs at Mount Sinai alone, slashing operating margins and potentially increasing the average hospital stay cost by $1,800–$2,000 for ~1 million annual admissions.

Nurses argue hospitals sit on $1.6 billion+ in cash reserves and can afford it; management warns it would force service cuts, layoffs elsewhere, and higher patient costs.

This is one of the largest private-sector nursing strikes in U.S. history, affecting some of New York’s biggest hospital systems during peak winter illness season.

Patient care is being maintained with contingency staffing, but the standoff could last weeks.

New York’s healthcare system is now in crisis mode.

[Linda Silas @CFNUPresident]

I think Barb is scared of a bottle of Bubbly …..just saying merci to your commitment to CFNU 😘

[Linda Silas @CFNUPresident]

. 🧡La réconciliation est une responsabilité partagée à laquelle nous devons nous engager et sur laquelle nous devons agir chaque jour. #ChaqueEnfantCompte, et tous nos systèmes, des soins de santé au logement, doivent refléter cela.

[Linda Silas @CFNUPresident]

I’m wearing my orange today in honour of residential school survivors. 🧡Reconciliation is a shared responsibility that we must commit to and act on every day. #EveryChildMatters, and all of our systems, from health care to housing, must reflect.

[Justice for Workers @fairwagesnow]

😡 After 10 yrs of falling wages & years of unpaid hours, @AirCanada workers are fighting back–for all of us!
💪🏿 Solidarity is everywhere, including among passengers. Air Canada has treated passengers horribly.
#StopWageTheft #Justice4Workers
@cupenat @IAMAW2323 @iamcanada

[Kiavash Najafi @KiavashNajafi]

Important context for the flight attendant strike.

[Air Canada ALPA Pilots @AirCanadaPilots]

Air Canada pilots stand in solidarity with CUPE flight attendants in a historic moment as they exercise their right to strike under the Canada Labour Code at 12:58 p.m. EDT.

[Candace Rennick @CandaceRennick]

@PattyHajdu Respectfully Minister, CUPE hasn’t left the table & remains ready to negotiate. As long as 107 looms, Air Canada has no incentive to negotiate. Please urge AC to negotiate, not wait for you to intervene. Flight Attendants deserve the right to win a fair deal. Pls support them.

[Linda Silas @CFNUPresident]

Attention to all frequent flyers -we can do our part to get @AirCanada back at the bargaining table by emailing AC or posting on social media our support for flight attendants
This is 2025 Air Canada, not the 1950’s.
#Safety
#respect
#unpaidworkwontfly
#2millionmilesAC

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

Did I read that clearly? Air Canada pulled in a record $22.3 billion in revenue in 2024 with CEO Mike Rousseau making over $12 million. Yet your flight attendant still struggles. The strike is a result of corporate greed, not incapacity.

[Abacus Data @abacusdataca]

🚨 New poll for flight attendants represented by
@cupenat – Canadians are decisively with the flight attendants in their dispute with Air Canada.

✅ 9 in 10 say pay should cover all duties
✅ 2 in 3 say AC can afford more
✅ Majority oppose gov’t forcing them back to work

#cdnpoli #aircanadalockout #aircanadastrike

Full results: https://t.co/Y9YfH44X2G

[MichaelHurleyCUPE @HurleyOCHUCUPE]

Air Canada settled with its pilots and won’t engage with its exploited flight attendants, almost all women. It counts on the federal government taking away their right to strike. That would be a historic miscalculation for the Liberals.

[Linda Silas @CFNUPresident]

Add your voice to this campaign! https://t.co/vGW0qxIoHn

[Wab Kinew @WabKinew]

Universal healthcare is who we are as Canadians. It’s one of the things that sets us a part from the U.S. and we should be proud of that. Let’s keep it strong and make sure it serves everyone, in every region. It’s our heritage, our legacy and something we should all be proud of.

[Linda Silas @CFNUPresident]

Delegates participate in workshops as part of convention education day 2.

Les délégué(e)s assistent à des ateliers lors de la deuxième journée de formation.

[Linda Silas @CFNUPresident]

While I travel @CFNU convention, I can’t stop reading the devastation fires are causing in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Sending all of your communities a big Solidarity hug 🤗 and a special Merci to all emergency workers including our members
Stay strong

[Dr. Brian Goldman @NightShiftMD]

Summer camp operators are (rightfully) not permitting kids not vaccinated with MMR to attend their camps. This is sensible since one case of #measles can infect up to 20 others. The cause is lower rates of MMR vaccination increasing the number of susceptible people.

[Linda Silas @CFNUPresident]

#BearWitnessDay honours Jordan River Anderson and reminds us to work hard to ensure Jordan's Principle is fully implemented & Indigenous children get the care they need. I'm sorry to miss the 20th Anniversary Walk, but glad @ManitobaNurses' Darlene Jackson is there repping nurses

[First Nations Child & Family Caring Society @CaringSociety]

Sagkeeng CFS with the Caring Society and KSMA is hosting the Jordan’s Principle 20th Anniversary Bear Witness Day Walk from The Forks to Memorial Park 💛🧸💙

WHERE: WINNIPEG, MB
WHEN: FRIDAY MAY 9, 2025 AT 10AM

Please RSVP: [email protected]

#BearWitnessDay2025

[Canada's Nurses @CFNU]

Join CFNU President Linda Silas and Ally Is a Verb author Rose Lemay for this live learning event on historical knowledge necessary for reconciliation and how to be good partners with Indigenous Peoples.

Everyone is welcome. Nurses attending CFNU’s Biennial Convention are highly encouraged to join us at this live event on May 21. RSVP: https://t.co/pYjpHEApIB

[Canada's Nurses @CFNU]

As one of the country’s leading health care advocacy organizations, the CFNU has a duty and responsibility to uphold reconciliation and safety for Indigenous people in care. At the Biennial Convention in June, the CFNU is apologizing for our historical lack of action and for the current risks of racism faced by Indigenous people. This will lay the foundation for CFNU’s reconciliation plan that will be tabled at convention.

Read CFNU President Linda Silas’ full letter on upholding reconciliation and safety for Indigenous people in the health care system: https://t.co/l77ouJ80sZ