(SMITHTOWN, NEW YORK) - New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA)-represented Nurses employed at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital, which is part of Catholic Health Services, have ratified a new contract with an overwhelming majority of Nurses (89%) voting in favor.

The three-year deal includes significant gains for Nurses, such as set Nurse-To-Patient Staffing Ratios to improve patient safety, expedited staffing enforcement language, and an average wage increase of 23% over the course of the contract.

Other contract highlights include Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Jr. Day as premium holidays, improved retiree health benefits, float incentive pay and more.

The agreement comes after 98% of Nurses voted to authorize a strike on Monday, August 14th.

A tentative agreement was reached in the early morning of Friday, August 18th after a bargaining session that lasted overnight.

NYSNA President at St. Catherine, Tammy Miller, a Registered Nurse herself too, said: “From the beginning, St. Catherine of Siena Nurses made clear what this was all about: Safe staffing for our patients and respect for our Nurses.  With improved staffing and wage increases that make us competitive with other Long Island Hospitals, St. Catherine will be able to recruit and retain more Nurses to ensure quality care for every single patient that walks through our doors.  This is the power of our Union!”  

NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, a Registered Nurse (RN) herself, said: “Long Island Nurses are on a roll!  With this victory, St. Catherine of Siena Nurses showed the ‘power of Nurses’ coming together to fight for the care their patients deserve and the respect Nurses deserve.  This is a new day for Long Island Nurses and patients." 

In January, Nurses at Mount Sinai South Nassau in Oceanside voted to join NYSNA.

In February, NYSNA Nurses at Northwell Health’s South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore voted to approve a new contract that raised their salaries nearly 19% and won an expedited arbitration of staffing disputes three days before they were set to Strike.

In April, St. Joseph’s Hospital of Catholic Health Services settled a contract with increased wages and staffing wins for Nurses, and this past June, St. Charles Nurses settled a new contract shortly after delivering a Strike Notice.

NYSNA, which represents more than 42,000 Members across the State, is New York’s largest Union and Professional Association for RNs.

NYSNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United, the country's largest and fastest-growing Union and Professional Association of RNs, with more than 225,000 Members nationwide.

To Read This Labor News Report In Its Entirety, Go To: 89% of NYSNA Nurses at St. Catherine of Siena Vote to Ratify Contract | New York State Nurses Association