Nurses At Long Island Hospital Vote To Strike

PORT JEFFERSON, NY — The nurses' union at St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson has overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike at 99 percent, union officials said Friday.

The voting took place Tuesday to Thursday, June 1 with a voter turnout of around 99 percent.

The New York State Nursing Association union has been in negotiations with Long Catholic Health Services since their contract expired on March 31, and in that time, members have been speaking out about current conditions in the hospital, including unsafe staffing levels, during negotiations, according to the union.

Over a third of the entire nursing staff marched to deliver a petition to President James O’Connor protesting management’s rejection of nearly all union proposals while failing to give an initial response on the key issue of safe staffing, the union said.

Since then, nurses have faced retaliation and intimidation from management, and "instead of relenting, they’ve continued to pack the room during bargaining sessions and continued pushing their bargaining priorities of safe staffing ratios," the union said.

Increased nurse wages, adding Juneteenth as a holiday, and an expedited arbitration process, has also been an issue, union officials said.

If the nurses cannot reach a tentative agreement, they would have to deliver a 10-day notice before going out on strike, according to the union.

Hospital union President Rob Barone said that the nurses "will continue to negotiate in good faith to achieve our paramount goal of providing quality care to those in our community by obtaining a fair contract that ensures safe staffing and enables us to retain and recruit nurses."

" We don’t take striking lightly, but our members are united and prepared to strike if St. Charles gives us no other option," he said.

Noting the union is part of a small community hospital, member leader Kim Bowman said, "Our peers our friends, our family come here, several nurses who have children, have had them at this hospital."

"We just want to make this place better to ensure we can provide quality care for our community,” she said. "Voting to authorize a strike is not an easy decision, but St Charles nurses are doing this because we love this hospital and want the best care possible for our patients.”

Union President Nancy Hagans said that "after three of the most challenging years in the profession, nurses have learned not to give up without a fight."

"Nurses at St. Charles deserve a fair contract with respectful raises and safe staffing, and they are ready to do whatever it takes to win for the safety of our patients and the dignity of our profession. Our 42,000 members are in solidarity with St. Charles nurses," she said.

In February, Nurses at Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside voted to join the union, and then nurses at Northwell Health’s South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore voted to approve a new contract that raised their salaries nearly 19 percent, and won an expedited arbitration of staffing disputes three days before they were set to strike.

In April, St. Joseph’s Hospital of Catholic Health Services settled a contract with increased wages and staffing wins for nurses.

"It’s clear that nurses on Long Island are ready to fight for their patients, and for a fair contract," union officials said.

In a statement to Patch, hospital officials said, "To date, St. Charles Hospital has attended 11 bargaining sessions with NYSNA and has made significant offers on wages, staffing and other important topics."

"The hospital remains committed to meeting with NYSNA, continuing to bargain in good faith and achieving a fair contract," the statement read.