More than 1,000 Northwell nurses could strike Jan. 12 over staffing concerns

More than 1,000 nurses at three Northwell Health hospitals on Long Island could walk off the job later this month after filing a 10-day strike notice with the health care system Friday, the union said.

The New York State Nurses Association, which represents nurses at Northwell’s Plainview, Syosset and Huntington hospitals, announced Friday that nurses at the three facilities will go on strike on Jan. 12 if the health system and union can’t reach a deal on a new union contract.

“Northwell Health is disappointed by the New York State Nurses Association’s decision to issue a strike notice, but we remain committed to negotiating a fair and sustainable contract,” Miriam Sholder, public relations adviser for Northwell’s eastern market, said in a statement.

“Our aim is to reach a fair agreement, and we will continue to engage in good faith negotiations with NYSNA,” Sholder said. “Should a strike occur, our priority will always be patient safety and care. Huntington, Plainview and Syosset hospitals will remain fully operational, ensuring uninterrupted, superior service for our patients.”

Late last month, nurses overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike if a deal wasn’t reached by a Dec. 31 deadline set by NYSNA.

Under federal law, the union must give the nurses' employer and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service at least 10 days’ notice before a strike can begin — a window during which further negotiations could still take place.

A key sticking point in negotiations has been staffing levels and nurse-to-patient ratios, the union said, arguing that workloads on existing staff are unsustainable and make attracting new nurses difficult. NYSNA said in a release Friday that Northwell “has responded with delay tactics” in negotiations and that progress on a new contract has been slow going.

“We are ready to settle fair contracts, but staffing continues to be a sticking point that Northwell will not budge on,” Meloi Policastro, a registered nurse at Syosset Hospital, said in a statement. “Nurses fight for our patients, and we will continue to fight for patients across Long Island until we get safe staffing ratios that ensure that our patients are safe and that we are able to give the best care possible.”

The previous three-year contract for nurses at Syosset expired on Oct. 12. Nurses at Huntington Hospital are negotiating their first contract after voting to leave their previous union and join NYSNA in 2024. Nurses at Plainview have been working without a contract since Nov. 4.