Hundreds of NYSNA Nurses Show Up to Late-Night Bargaining Session and Demand a Fair Contract that Ensures Safe Patient Care While Northwell Doubles Down on Union-Busting and Refuses Safe Staffing Ratios
For immediate release: Thursday Jan. 8, 2025
Contact: Andrea Penman-Lomeli | press@nysna.org | 347-559-3169
Kristi Barnes | press@nysna.org | 646-853-4489
HUNDREDS OF NYSNA NURSES SHOW UP TO LATE-NIGHT BARGAINING SESSION AND DEMAND A FAIR CONTRACT THAT ENSURES SAFE PATIENT CARE WHILE NORTHWELL DOUBLES DOWN ON UNION-BUSTING AND REFUSES SAFE STAFFING RATIOS
More Than 1,000 NYSNA Nurses at Northwell/Huntington Hospitals, Northwell/Plainview, and Northwell/Syosset Could Join 16,000 Private Sector NYC Nurses in Striking if Hospitals Do Not Agree to Contracts that Protect Patient Care with Safe Staffing and Guaranteed Healthcare Benefits for Frontline Caregivers
New Hyde Park, N.Y. - On Wednesday, Jan. 7, more than 200 New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) nurses from Northwell/Huntington, Northwell/Plainview, and Northwell/Syosset Hospitals packed the room during a late-night bargaining session to demand that Northwell management settle a fair contract that ensures safe, quality patient care on Long Island. Despite the overwhelming show of strength from nurses, many of whom have put their lives on hold to continue bargaining into the middle of the night, Northwell still refused to agree to enforceable safe staffing ratios and guaranteed healthcare benefits for nurses. Instead of agreeing to safe staffing that protects safe patient care, Northwell has tried to intimidate nurses and engaged in union busting.
Six days ago, NYSNA nurses from all three Long Island Northwell hospitals delivered 10-day strike notices. These notices give hospital management ten days to reach a fair contract that protects safe patient care and healthcare benefits for the nurses who care for patients across Long Island. If agreements are not reached, Northwell nurses would join nearly 16,000 nurses at private sector hospitals in New York City and go on strike on Jan. 12, 2026.
More than 1,000 nurses at the three Northwell hospitals have been bargaining for union contracts for months to ensure safe staffing ratios and guarantee healthcare benefits for frontline nurses. Northwell, the largest private employer in the state, has responded with delay tactics and proposals to make staffing levels less safe for Long Island patients, including staffing ratios that would require emergency room nurses to care for up to 12 patients at a time. Northwell has also engaged in union busting tactics, including unilaterally changing nurses’ access to union reps, intimidating RNs and creating a coercive employee handbook which threatens discipline for union activity.
Grace Silva, RN, at Northwell/Huntington, said, “NYSNA nurses are here, bargaining late into the night, because we care deeply about our community and want Northwell to settle a fair contract that protects patient care on Long Island. If Northwell can afford to buy up entire health systems, launch its own production company, and pay outrageous sums to union busting consultants and hospital executives, they can also afford to settle a contract that ensures our hospitals are safely staffed and guarantees healthcare benefits for the frontline nurses. When nurses have to work sick or understaffed, Long Islanders don’t get the safe, quality patient care they deserve.”
NYSNA nurses know that Northwell can afford to invest in safe patient care. Northwell is investing in outrageous salaries and benefit packages for hospital executives. In 2023, the 20 top executives at Northwell made over $36.7 million in salaries, bonuses, and perks.
NYSNA launched a new website and advertising campaign called “Northwealth” calling attention to Northwell’s outrageous executive pay, investment in expanding through mergers and acquisitions, and history of hiking up patient prices after they acquire smaller community hospitals. NYSNA members at all Northwell hospitals are fighting to make sure Northwell puts patients before profits.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, BSN, RN, CCRN, said, “Northwell’s behavior is absolutely disgusting. Instead of coming to the table and agreeing to safe staffing ratios that protect Long Island patients, Northwell is playing games with nurses’ time. These are the tireless nurses who bargain until 4 a.m. and then go to work and sit at the bedside with patients, holding their hands through some of the toughest moments of their lives. Northwell management is totally out of touch and needs to walk the halls of these hospitals to understand what nurses are fighting for. In the face of these intimidation tactics, Long Island nurses are stronger and more united than ever and will not stop until they get what their communities deserve.”
NYSNA Northwell nurses across New York have won strong contracts in recent years, including at Northwell/South Shore University Hospital earlier this year, and at LIJ Valley Stream, Peconic Bay Medical Center and Staten Island University Hospital in 2024. NYSNA is the voice of RNs throughout the Northwell system, representing over 5,225 members at seven facilities throughout Long Island and Staten Island. Together, NYSNA nurses have secured union contracts that raise the standards for patients, nurses, and our communities.
Last week, approximately 20,000 NYSNA nurses at 12 New York City Hospitals also delivered strike notices. Since then, tentative agreements have been reached at 4 hospitals, and strike notices have been rescinded from 7 hospitals that have protected safe staffing and healthcare benefits. Despite this, 16,000 nurses from New York City’s wealthiest private hospital systems remain set to go on strike, beginning on Monday, Jan. 12. NYSNA nurses at Northwell facilities on Long Island are ready to grow the movement for quality patient care across New York state by going out on strike at the same time as their New York City union siblings.
###
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.