By Hank Russell
A nurses’ union has voted to go on strike if it does not have a new contract by December 31. The issues that the nurses have with Northwell Health include inadequate pay, poor working conditions and staffing issues.
The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), an affiliate of National Nurses United and the AFL-CIO, announced on December 23 that a majority of nurses voted in support of walking off the job. The organization represents 1,100 nurses working at Northwell/Plainview, Northwell/Syosset and Northwell/Huntington Hospitals.
As previously reported in Long Island Life & Politics, nurses convened in front of Northwell’s New Hyde Park headquarters, where they were joined by labor unions and elected officials on December 12. On its website, the NYNSA said the nurses they represent “have been bargaining for a new union contract for months” that entails fair pay and retaining the current nursing staff while hiring new nurses to the staff.
The NYNSA sent a letter to Northwell Health President/CEO John D’Angelo, calling out what they said is Northwell’s lack of commitment to Long Island communities. “The offers Northwell has presented include inadequate pay and benefits and work rules that will negatively impact nurse and patient safety,” the letter said. “Additionally, the refusal to commit in writing to safe nurse-to-patient ratios—allowing assignments that could reach as high as nine patients per nurse—directly jeopardizes the quality of care that Northwell pledges to uphold. … The disconnect between your message of shared purpose, the actions of your bargaining team, and the reality of these contract proposals is disheartening and disillusioning.”
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, BSN, RN, CCRN, said, “Going on strike is always a last resort, and NYSNA nurses will continue to do everything within their power to settle fair contracts. NYSNA nurses on Long Island are united in calling on the largest employer in our state to prioritize safe patient care and treat nurses with the respect they deserve, and they aren’t scared. They are ready to do whatever it takes to protect their patients, including going on strike if management gives them no other choice.”
Other Northwell nurses spoke out.
“Instead of working with frontline nurses, Northwell management has demanded givebacks and staffing ratios that would make our Long Island patients less safe,” said Meloi Policastro, RN, at Northwell/Syosset. “There’s no reason why our care for our patients or the health and safety of nurses should be compromised while Northwell executives continue to pad their wallets. We’re fighting because we need Northwell to prioritize patients.”
“The biggest issue here by far is safe staffing,” Chris Coburn, RN, at Northwell/Plainview Hospital, added. “We are working most shifts in the emergency room with too many patients and not enough nurses. Our patients come in sicker, and we are expected to do more with less. I became a nurse because I wanted to care for my patients. But being asked to care for up to 12 patients is physically impossible – it’s not the care I want to give. Patients deserve better; they deserve enough nurses at the bedside.”
Grace Silva, RN, at Northwell/Huntington, said, “Nurses across the Northwell system are united. We’ve watched the state’s largest employer make huge changes to patient care on Long Island, and it’s often not for the better. Nurses are the experts in patient care, and we will continue to raise our voices until we see real change happen. Our Long Island communities deserve better.”
LILP reached out to Northwell Health for comment.
“Northwell Health values and invests deeply in our nurses and the essential role they play in caring for our communities,” a Northwell Health spokesperson said. “Our hospitals are engaged in ongoing, constructive negotiations with the New York State Nurses Association and have consistently bargained in good faith. Our focus remains on reaching a fair and responsible agreement that supports our nurses and ensures the continuity of high-quality, compassionate care our patients rely on.”