Nurses at Mount Sinai South Nassau Picket for a Fair Contract
For immediate release: Dec. 9, 2024
Contact: Andrea Penman-Lomeli | press@nysna.org | 347-559-3169
Kristi Barnes | press@nysna.org | 646-853-4489
NURSES AT MOUNT SINAI SOUTH NASSAU PICKET FOR A FAIR CONTRACT
NYSNA nurses at Mount Sinai South Nassau are fighting for a fair contract with safe staffing, fair wages and health benefits. Nurses call on Mount Sinai to invest in Long Island nurses and patients.
Long Island, N.Y.– On Monday, Dec. 9 at 12:15 p.m., nurses held a speak-out and informational picket for their first contract. Nurses are fighting for a contract with safe staffing, respectful wages and improved benefits that keep experienced nurses at the bedside. Although they have been fighting for better patient care for their community, nurses have faced significant challenges from Mount Sinai since they began their efforts to organize a union with NYSNA and bargain a first contract.
** Photos and video available at https://www.facebook.com/nynurses **
Marianne Gale, RN, Local Bargaining Unit President, said, “The nurses of Mount Sinai South Nassau are fighting for safe staffing, better wages, and benefits to provide quality care to our patients and the community that we serve. We are tired of Mount Sinai taking nurses for granted. It is time for Mount Sinai South Nassau to come to the bargaining table in good faith and deliver a fair contract to nurses now!"
Regina D’Angelo, RN, said, “We are fighting for safe staffing. As a dialysis nurse, I work with nurses on different units and see how stretched thin they are. When ED nurses have to care for 7 or 8 patients, when they should be taking care of 3 or 4, they don’t have time to prepare the patients I’ll receive for dialysis. That can cause dialysis treatments and appointments to be delayed for hours. The unsafe staffing standards that nurses are experiencing create a domino effect in every part of the hospital."
In January 2023, nurses at Mount Sinai South Nassau voted to join the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA). Hospital management has challenged nurses at every step. They delayed the nurses’ union organizing for nearly a year and illegally fired a nurse for union activity.
Ani Halasz, Executive Director, Long Island Jobs with Justice, said, "Mount Sinai is one of the wealthiest hospitals in New York, yet at South Nassau Hospital they are choosing to put profits over patient safety and employee well-being. The nurses at Mount Sinai South Nassau work long days and long hours caring for their patients but South Nassau's refusal to provide safe staffing and respectful wages puts the patients, workers and community at risk. We demand that Mount Sinai negotiate with the nurses in good faith and invest in the health and well-being of the community it serves. The pursuit of profits should never come before the health and dignity of people.”
Christine Moran, RN, said, “When it comes to patient care, we are dealing with patients’ lives. We want our patients safe, and I know family members want their loved ones safe as well. However, we cannot meet a safe standard of care if Mount Sinai fails to hire and staff enough nurses in the hospital. Long Island patients deserve better.”
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, said, “Mount Sinai is using its resources to fight against the needs of its nurses and patients. As one of the wealthiest hospital systems in the state, they must invest in safe patient care and deliver a contract that nurses and patients deserve. South Nassau nurses should know that they have the strength of the union behind them, all 42,000 of us across the state. And we will stop at nothing until Mount Sinai agrees to a fair contract!”
John Durso, President, Long Island Federation of Labor, said, “The management of Mt. Sinai South Nassau must put patients over profits, prioritize safe staffing, and deliver a fair first contract to the nurses. They keep our families and neighbors safe and an investment in them is an investment in quality patient care. Now is the time to deliver certainty for patients, nurses, and all of the employees of South Nassau.”
Judy Griffin, Assembly Member-elect, said, “I am grateful to have Mount Sinai South Nassau in Assembly District 21 to provide exemplary care to the residents. I saw firsthand how tirelessly the nursing staff worked while so many stayed home and sheltered in place during COVID-19. The dedication and diligence Long Island nurses and specifically, Mount Sinai South Nassau nurses, showed in keeping us safe was incredible! Now it’s our turn to be there for them as they fight for a fair first union contract. I am hopeful that an agreement can be reached between the NYSNA and South Nassau Mount Sinai.”
South Nassau Hospital has long been a community hospital but when it was acquired by Mount Sinai, one of the wealthiest hospitals in New York state, nurses saw the new administration increasingly put profits before patients. The hospital has also substantially invested in construction and expansion of its buildings, including plans for a new parking garage. Nurses have not seen the same investment in patient care.
When other Mount Sinai nurses in Manhattan bargained their last contract in 2022 and early 2023, they won historic enforceable safe staffing standards and wage increases. Now Mount Sinai South Nassau nurses are battling for a fair first contract with the safe staffing, respectful wages and improved benefits that keep experienced nurses at the bedside.
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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.