Smithtown, N.Y. – Late on Tuesday, Aug. 22, New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) nurses at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital, part of Catholic Health Services, ratified a new contract with an overwhelming majority of nurses (89%) voting in favor of ratification.

The new three-year contract includes significant gains for nurses, such as set nurse-to-patient staffing ratios to improve patient safety, expedited staffing enforcement language, and an average wage increase of 23% over the course of the contract. Other contract highlights include Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Jr. Day as premium holiday, improved retiree health benefits, float incentive pay, and more.

The agreement comes after 98% of nurses voted to authorize a strike on Monday, Aug. 14. A tentative agreement was reached in the early morning of Friday, Aug. 18 after a bargaining session that lasted overnight.

NYSNA President at St. Catherine, Tammy Miller, RN, said: “From the beginning, St. Catherine of Siena nurses made clear what this was all about: Safe staffing for our patients and respect for our nurses. With improved staffing and wage increases that make us competitive with other Long Island hospitals, St. Catherine will be able to recruit and retain more nurses to ensure quality care for every single patient that walks through our doors. This is the power of our union!”  

NYSNA Nurse Lorraine Incarnato, RN, said: “We said we would do whatever it takes to win a fair contract because we care about our patients. We were prepared to go on strike but are so glad to have reached an agreement that keeps us where we want to be, at the bedside caring for our patients. We’re proud to join St. Joseph and St. Charles nurses as the third Catholic Health System hospital to win a fair contract, a testament to what nurses can do when we fight together for our profession and for our community.”

NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, said: “Long Island nurses are on a roll! With this victory, St. Catherine of Siena nurses showed the power of nurses coming together to fight for the care their patients deserve, and the respect nurses deserve. This is a new day for Long Island nurses and patients." 

In January, nurses at Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside voted to join NYSNA. In February, NYSNA nurses at Northwell Health’s South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore voted to approve a new contract that raised their salaries nearly 19% and won an expedited arbitration of staffing disputes three days before they were set to strike. In April, St. Joseph’s Hospital of Catholic Health Services settled a contract with increased wages and staffing wins for nurses, and this past June, St. Charles nurses settled a new contract shortly after delivering a strike notice. With this latest victory, Long Island nurses make it clear they are ready to do whatever it takes to fight and win better working conditions and improved patient safety.