NYSNA Nurses at St. Charles Hospital Ratify New Contract

NYSNA Nurses at St. Charles Hospital Ratify New Contract

Contract improves patient safety with set nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, expediated staffing enforcement language, significant wage increases, and more

Port Jefferson, N.Y. – Late on Tuesday, June 6, New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) nurses at St. Charles Hospital, part of Catholic Health Services, ratified a new contract with an overwhelming majority of nurses (97.4%) 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 20.5% over the course of the three-year contract. Other contract highlights include Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Jr. Day as premium holiday, improved retiree health benefits, increased education benefits, float incentive pay, and more.

The agreement comes after 99.6% of nurses voted to authorize a strike on Thursday, June 1 and delivered a strike notice on Friday, June 2. A tentative agreement was reached the evening of Saturday, June 3 after a second full day of bargaining.

NYSNA President at St. Charles, Rob Barone, RN, said: “This victory was a pivotal moment for St. Charles nurses. We were focused and united in our goal of patient safety, and our commitment paid off. I’m proud of all St. Charles nurses who advocated for our patients by speaking out, marching, and showing up at the bargaining table. We look forward to continuing to work with St. Charles Hospital for the health and wellbeing of our community.”

NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN said: “Our nurses at St. Charles Hospital held firm and won a great contract to protect quality care for the Port Jefferson community. I’m proud of their commitment to safeguarding the future of nursing and the safety of our patients. It takes courage to fight for what is right. Long Island nurses are once again proving that when we fight, we win!”

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. With this latest victory, Long Island nurses make it clear they are ready to do what it takes to fight and win better working conditions and improved patient safety.

Nurses at St. Catherine of Siena, another Catholic Health Service hospital, start bargaining a new contract later this month. Their contract expires on July 31.

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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.