Staten Island University Hospital nurses sign new contract
Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH) nurses have voted to ratify a new contract with SIUH-Northwell Health. They had been ready to set out on strike on Tuesday, April 2.
Before the start of their strike, New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) President Nancy Hagans had spoken out about the low pay SIUH nurses were receiving; the base pay for nurses at SIUH-Northwell nurses was averaging some $11,573 lower than what was available at other New York City hospitals.
“Nurses shouldn’t be living paycheck to paycheck while keeping Staten Island safe and healthy, and Northwell shouldn’t be making cuts that make their jobs even harder while spending big on corporate expansions and fancy ad campaigns,” Hagans had said. “Nurses on Staten Island deserve a fair contract with respectful raises and safe staffing. Northwell needs to do better by their nurses.”
SIUH nurses had received a signed letter of support for their strike from 26 other unions. “Too many SIUH nurses are leaving Staten Island to find nursing jobs in the other four boroughs,” the letter claimed. It was signed by unions like 32BJ SEIU, District Council 37, New York City District Council of Carpenters, AFSCME, Doctors Council SEIU, RWDSU, New York City Deputy Sheriffs Association, Writers Guild of America East, and Professional Staff Congress CUNY.
“Nurses are dedicated to serving their Staten Island community but are being pushed to seek other opportunities because of SIUH’s lower pay and unsafe staffing levels. Staten Island is the only borough without an acute care public hospital. Given Northwell-SIUH’s near monopoly on healthcare on Staten Island, our community’s care will continue to suffer until pay and unsafe staffing levels are fixed.”
NYSNA, the nurses’ union, and SIUH held a long March 29 through 30 negotiating session and came to a last-minute agreement before the strike could start.
The 1,300 nurses at SIUH/Northwell voted in favor of the new contract, which is said to add nurse staffing on 18 units, boost nurse wages so that they are similar to that of other New York City private hospitals, and increase the medical program for retired nurses. SIUH-Northwell nurses now also have the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Holiday as a paid holiday.
On X/Twitter, Staten Island’s State Assembly Member Charles D. Fall, who had signed on to a letter of support for the nurses, called the strike aversion a “victory [that] brings crucial improvements in staffing and wages, keeping our nurses where they belong: in Staten Island, serving our community. Unity and perseverance always lead to triumph.”
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