Nurses at Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital in Oceanside vote to join state union

Nurses at Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital in Oceanside have voted to join the New York State Nurses Association, two months after a majority of the nurses at the hospital filed with the National Labor Relations Board to select the association as their union representative, it was announced Friday.

The vote, conducted Thursday night, means the group of approximately 800 nurses will formally join the NYSNA, which represents more than 42,000 members in New York — and comes on the heels of a recent three-day New York City nursing strike by NYSNA nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital and Montefiore Medical Center. South Nassau was the last nonunion facility in the entire Mount Sinai health system, the NYSNA said in a statement announcing the vote results.

The NYSNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United, AFL-CIO, which is the nation's largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses, with more than 225,000 members nationwide.

In statement issued Friday, NYSNA president Nancy Hagans said, "The South Nassau nurses worked for too long without a voice, without adequate compensation, and without a seat at the table to improve care and uplift standards at the hospital. When nurses are in unions, we find standards rise and quality care increases."

In a statement Friday, the hospital said: "We respect the decision made by Mount Sinai South Nassau nurses to have the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) union represent them. Our focus remains on supporting Mount Sinai nurses — and all our employees — in delivering the excellent patient care we are known for and that our community has come to expect from us, ensuring that Mount Sinai South Nassau continues to be one of the best places to work."

The statement continued: "We recognize the tremendous sacrifices Mount Sinai South Nassau nurses have made during the pandemic and the challenges posed by a nationwide nursing shortage. Mount Sinai South Nassau nurses received 17 percent in pay increases and other enhancements during the last 15 months to recognize their experience. Nurses at MSSN also have always played an active role in governance issues, including in helping to find solutions to the nursing shortage and achieving Magnet™ level nursing care for our patients. The hospital hired 250 nurses last year. We look forward to continuing to work together to provide the high level of nursing care our patients have come to expect."

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”