More than 900 nurses at Northwell’s South Shore University Hospital canceled a planned strike after reaching a tentative labor deal that increases staffing in high-need units and raises nurse pay.
The nurses, represented by the New York State Nurses Association, reached a contract with the Suffolk County hospital late Tuesday, one week after they announced their plan to go on strike on March 17. The union has been negotiating with Northwell since November to improve what they say is low staffing at the hospital. Inadequate staffing has left nurses unable to take breaks and has put patient care in jeopardy, specifically in the emergency room and labor and delivery ward, the union said.
The tentative three-year contract addresses some of the nurses’ staffing concerns by requiring South Shore University Hospital, which has 313 beds, to hire 19 new nurses to work across its most severely short-staffed units, NYSNA said. It also guarantees breaks for nurses, some of whom were going 12 hours without stopping, Joanne DeAntonio, an ER nurse and local bargaining president, previously told Crain’s.
In addition to the staffing changes, the deal allows nurses to review any artificial intelligence technology that could affect their workflow – a first-of-its-kind provision for a nurse labor contract in New York, NYSNA said.
Nurses also secured pay increases of $18,000 to $20,000 over the three-year contract, aligning their wages with other Long Island medical facilities, according to the union. The deal includes annual pay increases, retirement bonuses and improvements to retiree health care.
Joe Kemp, a spokesman for Northwell Health, said that the hospital is “pleased to have reached a tentative agreement with NYSNA,” adding that the deal shows its commitment to creating a supportive work environment and offering competitive salaries and benefits to nurses.
Members will begin voting to ratify the contract on March 13 and the voting will conclude on Friday, the union said.
