Northwell Nurses Unite to Protect Patient Care on Long Island
NYSNA members at Northwell/Huntington, Northwell/Plainview and Northwell/Syosset have been at the bargaining table for months, fighting for the fair contracts that Long Island nurses and patients deserve. But at every turn, their employer — the largest private employer in New York state — has been stalling and disrespecting nurses. Northwell Health operates two dozen hospitals and 900 outpatient care centers and employs 104,000 people across New York and Connecticut, thanks to its recent merger with Nuvance. To take on the healthcare giant, Northwell nurses from across Long Island are uniting to demand that hospital management not leave behind their communities and patients.
Disrespect at the Bargaining Table
More than 1,000 NYSNA nurses at Huntington, Plainview and Syosset Hospitals have been bargaining for months and are still without a contract. This isn’t for lack of trying—management has attempted to stall every phase of negotiations. Northwell has come to the bargaining tables late and unprepared; left negotiations early; refused to make bargaining accessible to nurses; and hasn’t made serious or meaningful counterproposals to what NYSNA nurses have put across the table. Northwell management has even prevented NYSNA nurses from attending bargaining via Zoom, which would ensure that every nurse has equitable access to bargaining and the ability to make their voice heard. Management is also seeking major concessions that roll back important gains that nurses have fought for and could erode quality care on Long Island.
Northwell Nurses United
On Friday, Dec. 12, nurses from all three facilities joined forces to hold a speak-out at Northwell Headquarters to demand a fair contract for nurses and patients. Nassau County Legislator Arnold Drucker; Long Island Federation Labor President John Durso; and Diane Cantave, an organizer with Long Island Jobs with Justice joined nurses at the speak-out. On the morning of the speak-out, the Long Island Federation of Labor also sent a letter of solidarity to Northwell management, urging it to set the right example, work cooperatively with NYSNA nurses, “show real respect for the healthcare workers who carry our communities” and settle a fair contract.
At the speak-out, nurses were fired up by their drive to protect patient care on Long Island — and because they’ve had enough of management’s games at the table. Chris Coburn, RN, a NYSNA member at Plainview Hospital, said, “What we want more than anything is to take care of patients safely, and Northwell management is making that very difficult. Right now, we struggle to keep up with patients’ needs and demands. As nurses, we want to provide the best care possible, but we can’t possibly do that when we are as understaffed as we are now.”
NYSNA board members in the Northwell system and on Long Island spoke at the event in solidarity. NYSNA Southeastern Regional Director and Northwell/ Peconic Bay Medical Center nurse Christopher Honor, BS, BSN, RN, CAPA, emceed the speak-out. Margaret Franks, BSN, RN, MEDSURG-BC, Marie Boyle, BSN, RN, and Denash L. Forbes, MSN, RN, all spoke out in solidarity with the Northwell NYSNA nurses.
In addition to the speak-out, nurses from Plainview and Syosset Hospitals also released an open letter to Northwell Health President and CEO Dr. John D’Angelo, calling on him to help get bargaining back on track and protect patient care on Long Island.
Northwealth
In tandem with the speak-out at Northwell Headquarters, NYSNA also launched “Northwealth,” a new website and advertising campaign in support of Long Island nurses and patients. The campaign calls attention to Northwell’s outrageous executive pay, investment in expansion through mergers and acquisitions, investment in union busting, and history of hiking up patient prices after acquiring smaller community hospitals. Nurses are hopeful that this public education campaign will help build support for their ongoing contract campaigns. The campaign launched on Dec. 12 with a mobile billboard that circled Northwell headquarters during nurses’ speak-out as well as Huntington, Plainview and Syosset throughout the day.
What’s Next?
In late December, NYSNA members at Huntington, Plainview and Syosset all held successful strike votes, with a super majority of nurses voting to authorize their bargaining committees to call for a strike, if necessary. The successful votes show management that nurses are ready and willing to do whatever it takes to win the fair contract that Long Island nurses and patients deserve.
As of publication, Northwell nurses at Huntington, Plainview and Syosset have all reached tentative agreements, averting a strike! Now nurses will vote on whether to ratify their contracts. Congratulations, Northwell Nurses United — when we fight, we win!