Registered Nurses at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown, N.Y., and St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson, N.Y., have overwhelmingly voted to authorize strikes, the New York State Nurses Association said in a news release.
Nurses at the hospitals, which are part of Catholic Health Services of Long Island, are working under expired contracts. They are asking for "a fair contract that enforces adequate staffing for patient care," as well as "adequate health benefits and pay needed to help recruit and retain skilled healthcare workers at the facility," the union said.
Strike authorizations do not necessarily mean strikes will take place. The NYSNA would still have to issue a formal declaration of strikes and give hospitals 10 days notice before walkouts would occur. At present, NYSNA has not set specific dates for the 10-day notices of action or the strikes. Negotiations are ongoing.
In response to the strike authorizations, a CHS spokesperson released the following statement: "We have not received a strike notice and have dates scheduled to continue negotiations. In the meantime, we are working diligently to resolve all issues and have made great progress toward that goal. We look forward to a mutually satisfactory collective bargaining agreement which rewards our nurses and meets the needs of our hospitals."
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