Smithtown Nurses Could Strike As Vote Begins: 'Whatever It Takes'

SMITHTOWN, NY — Nurses at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital in Smithtown might go on strike.

Nurses in the New York State Nurses Association began voting to authorize a strike on Wednesday morning after their contract with St. Catherine of Siena Hospital expired on July 31 and negotiations slowed this week, the association announced. Voting is set to end at 8 p.m. Friday.

If a majority of nurses approve a strike, they would then have to deliver a 10-day notice to management before the strike starts.

"We didn’t want to have to take this step, but nurses made a commitment that we would do whatever it takes for patient safety and a fair contract," said Tammy Miller, union president of NYSNA at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital and nurse, said in a news release. "We are tired of begging to get the safe staffing levels and improved wages we need to retain nurses at St. Catherine."

The association cited "unsafe staffing levels" and "some of the lowest pay in Suffolk County" as reasons the nurses are voting to strike. The nurses were at the forefront of the coronavirus pandemic and supported the Smithtown community through various public health challenges, the union wrote.

Nurses have been fighting for safe nurse-to-patient ratios, as well as benefits and wages that will retain and recruit nurses at St. Catherine so they can "provide the quality care Smithtown patients deserve."

The hospital said it has bargained with the union and put forth "significant" offers.

"St. Catherine of Siena Hospital has participated in nine bargaining sessions with NYSNA and has made significant offers on wages, staffing and other matters of importance," a spokesperson for the hospital told Patch. "We continue to bargain in good faith and remain committed to achieving a fair contract."

Since negotiations began on May 30, nurses have committed to doing "whatever it takes" to win a fair contract by packing the room during bargaining meetings, launching a petition campaign, and having more than 130 nurses march on the CEO to present their demands last month.

The union says the hospital's management has "failed to offer proposals" meeting the needs of nurses and patients in the areas of safe staffing and wages to make St. Catherine competitive with other Long Island hospitals.

“We need management to bring real proposals to the table with competitive wages and safe staffing ratios to ensure we have enough nurses at the bedside," said Lorraine Incarnato, a NYSNA nurse at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital. "We are demanding they bargain in good faith to deliver a contract that respects nurses and our patients!"