NYSNA Nurses at Centerlight Deliver Unfair Labor Practice Strike Notice, Demand Reinstatement of Their Health Coverage and a Fair Contract
For immediate release: April 3, 2025
Contact: Andrea Penman-Lomeli | press@nysna.org | 347-559-3169
Kristi Barnes | press@nysna.org | 646-853-4489
NYSNA NURSES AT CENTERLIGHT DELIVER UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE STRIKE NOTICE, DEMAND REINSTATEMENT OF THEIR HEALTH COVERAGE AND A FAIR CONTRACT
NYSNA nurses will begin an unfair labor strike on April 14 if management does not return to the table, reinstate nurses’ health coverage, and agree to a fair contract
Centerlight unlawfully refused to continue nurses' healthcare coverage after nurses did not accept proposals that would have more than quadrupled their healthcare costs.
Bronx, N.Y. -- On Thurs. April 3, New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) home healthcare nurses delivered an unfair labor practice strike notice to CenterLight, a nonprofit that provides long-term home healthcare. Nurses voted by an overwhelming majority to authorize a strike after Centerlight unlawfully refused to continue nurses’ health coverage during contract negotiations and refused to return to the bargaining table. Nurses will begin an unfair labor practice strike at 7 a.m. on Monday, April 14 unless they can reach a contract agreement before then.
NYSNA nurses at Centerlight have been fighting for a fair contract and continuing to care for some of the most vulnerable homebound New Yorkers without essential healthcare for themselves. Their contract expired in September 2024, and they were thrown off their healthcare in January 2025. After Centerlight refused to continue to bargain and refused to work with a mediator, NYSNA nurses, voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. Nurses are demanding immediate reinstatement of their health coverage and a fair contract.
CenterLight nurses go into the homes of some of the most vulnerable homebound New Yorkers and provide a broad range of care—from routine checkups to emergency care. They travel all across the city, Long Island and Westchester to provide care for mostly elderly, low-income, and underinsured patients.
Nurses have been tirelessly fighting for higher wages and improved working conditions for months and have seen little movement from their employer. When NYSNA nurses didn’t accept management’s disrespectful proposals that would have dropped their current health plan and more than quadrupled healthcare costs, CenterLight refused to cooperate with their current health plans’ rules, resulting in RNs losing health coverage for themselves and their families. NYSNA filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge in response.
Reena Pradhan Singh, RN, said, “We voted to authorize a strike because working in these conditions is unsafe for us and our patients, and nurses are fed up. Most of us are women of color and many of us have chronic illnesses and continue to put our health and safety on the line to care for patients. We have delayed visiting doctors when sick, have unfilled prescriptions, and are constantly worried we might get hurt or get one of our patients sick—I feel like I’m living in a nightmare. This is no way to care and absolutely no way to take care of the New Yorkers who need care the most.”
Centerlight has a history of prioritizing profits over patients. NYSNA launched a website that highlights the millions CenterLight has spent on marketing and executive salaries. Last year, CenterLight's CEO Tara Buonocore-Rut raked in over $1.5 million in total compensation and tax filings show that CenterLight spent another $1.5 million on advertising. In 2016, CenterLight paid $47 million to New York in 2016 to settle Medicaid fraud charges related to billing practices.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, said, “Centerlight’s behavior is disrespectful to nurses and harmful to patients. Centerlight nurses are already overburdened and overworked and should not have to shoulder the stress of no health coverage. NYSNA nurses will not be bullied, and we will continue to fight until we get what patients and nurses deserve."
Nurses have distributed flyers near several CenterLight locations across the city and have spoken publicly to bring attention to these issues. CenterLight nurses also launched a petition which has gotten over 500 signatures from community allies. Visit the website to learn more.
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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.