Nurses Make Major Gains in Tentative Agreement Reached in Early Hours of Feb. 23

Bay Shore, N.Y.— Less than a week before a strike was set to begin on Feb. 27, NYSNA nurses at South Shore University Hospital / Northwell Health won a tentative agreement. The agreement comes after approximately 99% of South Shore nurses voted to authorize a strike.

The tentative agreement includes improvements to and enforcement of safe staffing standards as well as increases in salaries, including experience pay to retain nurses. It also includes improvements to retiree health benefits.

Nurses withdrew their strike notice today. Members will vote on whether to ratify the new agreement starting tomorrow, Feb 24. More details on the agreement will be released after ratification.

NYSNA local president at South Shore University Hospital Chrysse Blau, RN, stated: "This victory is a testament of our nurses’ commitment to patient care. We’re proud of having raised our voices loud and clear to ensure nurses at South Shore get the contract we deserve. NYSNA nurses have a saying, “Every patient is a VIP!” We hope this is the beginning of a new era for our hospital where this saying becomes a reality and nurses have the staffing and working conditions we need to provide our patients with the excellent care each of them deserves.”

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The New York State Nurses Association represents more than 42,000 members in New York State. We are New York’s largest union and professional association for registered nurses. NYSNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United, AFL-CIO, the country's largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses, with more than 225,000 members nationwide.

For more information, visit nysna.org.