Northwell Nurses Deliver 10-Day Strike Notices at Three Long Island Hospitals
On Friday, Jan. 2, NYSNA nurses at Northwell/Huntington, Northwell/Plainview, and Northwell/Syosset Hospitals delivered strike notices to management, announcing their intention to strike on Monday, Jan. 12, if a fair contract that includes safe patient care and healthcare benefits for nurses is not settled by that time. If no agreement is reached within 10 days, Northwell nurses would join the 20,000 private sector nurses in New York City that are also set to begin a strike on Jan. 12.
The strike notice comes after nurses announced the results of strike authorization votes on Dec. 23, with an overwhelming majority of nurses voting to authorize the strike.
Nurses have been bargaining with Northwell for months with little progress. Throughout bargaining, Northwell negotiators have done their best to stall negotiations and disrespect nurses. Northwell management has also 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.
On top of their disrespect, management is also seeking major concessions, which would roll back important gains that nurses have fought for and could erode quality care on Long Island.
Uniting for Safe Patient Care
Earlier in December, nurses from all three facilities joined forces to hold a speak-out at Northwell Headquarters to demand a fair contract for nurses and patients. Long Island elected officials, NYSNA board members Christopher Honor, BS, BSN, RN, CAPA, NYSNA Southeastern Regional Director and Northwell/ Peconic Bay Medical Center nurse, Margaret Franks, BSN, RN, MEDSURG-BC, NYSNA Treasurer and Northwell/Vassar Brothers Medical Center nurse, Marie Boyle, BSN, RN, NYSNA Director at Large and Northwell/South Shore University Hospital nurse and Denash L. Forbes, MSN, RN, NYSNA Director at Large and Mount Sinai West nurse, as well as community and labor allies joined the nurses. 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, and settle a fair contract.
At the speak-out, nurses spoke about the critical need for management to step up and invest in safe, quality patient care on Long Island. All three hospitals suffer from understaffing, and nurses are concerned about the long-term impact regular understaffing would have on patient care. Chris Coburn, RN, a NYSNA member at Plainview Hospital, said, “Patients are coming in sicker and are delaying care, but Northwell is not addressing these issues by providing the staffing we need to keep up with increasing demand. It’s a never-ending cycle. If Northwell doesn’t take staffing seriously, hospitals are going to continue to suffer from high levels of turnover.”
Doing Whatever It Takes
At the same time as the speak-out, 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.
In addition to the new website, 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.
What’s Next?
Striking is always a last resort for nurses, but NYSNA members at Northwell/ Huntington, Plainview, and Syosset are ready to do whatever it takes to settle the fair contract that Long Island nurses and patients deserve. Management now has 10 days to settle the fair contract that Long Island nurses and patients deserve.