Registered Nurses From St. Charles Hospital Vote To Authorize Strike
Port Jefferson – Registered Nurses at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown and St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson – two Catholic Health Systems hospitals – have overwhelmingly voted to authorize strikes. 
Nurses at both St. Catherine and St. Charles are working under expired contracts, and are asking for:
- A fair contract that enforces adequate staffing for patient care; and
- Adequate health benefits and pay needed to help recruit and retain skilled healthcare workers at the facility.
Registered nurses have presented contract proposals to management that would raise patient care standards, provide both affordable healthcare and fair wages for nurses, and appropriately enforce safe staffing concerns. Negotiations continue.
“We are very frustrated with management,” said Tracy Kosciuk, RN St. Charles Medical Center, maternal child unit. “We feel a total lack of respect. Our community appreciates our dedication and management should too.”
“All of these issues affect retention and recruitment. Keeping and attracting experienced nurses are essential to quality care,” said Tammy Miller, RN St Catherine of Siena.
No specific dates have been determined for the 10-day notices of action nor the strikes.
The strike authorizations come on the heels of contract ratifications at three upstate hospitals: Nathan Littauer in Gloversville, Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown and St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica. New contracts at all three hospitals addressed the staffing issues that were affecting patients as well as pay and benefit concerns.
Photos: Brookhaven News Herald-Jim Harrison | Cover Photo: St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson. Story Photo: Nurses demonstrated earlier this year in front of St. Charles Hospital.
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