November 25, 2024 — Nurses at Sagamore Children’s Hospital on Long Island work tirelessly to provide quality care to their patients. So when they felt management was violating the union’s collective bargaining agreement and impacting that level of care, they took action.
The issue centered on shift changes and work schedules. Nurses at Sagamore must have schedules that line up with one another so that there is always a nurse on duty as another nurse ends their shift. Management at Sagamore has recently issued shift changes to nurses without sufficient notice and in violation of the PEF contract.
“There is supposed to be at least 30-days’ notice when a new shift change is being implemented,” said Jennifer Hall, a Registered Nurse 2 at Sagamore. “Additionally, management should be providing justification for the shift change and shifts should be selected according to seniority.”
Hall said that shift changes and other forms of overreach be management lead nurses into burnout and ultimately quitting.
“There has been a lot of union turnover recently,” said Hall, who is one of three recently elected PEF Stewards at Sagamore. “We want to do something to change the culture and let people know that we’re here for them.”
Sagamore (PEF Division 178) is still without a council leader and an election will be held soon to hopefully fill that vacancy. In the interim, Hall and her fellow Stewards, with the support of PEF Statewide Field Services and Organizing, are providing much-needed leadership on the ground given the current climate.
On September 20, they organized a tabling event. The goal was to let members know all the various ways PEF has their backs.
“We pulled the event together in less than a week,” said Hall. “Due to limitations placed on us by hospital management, we were forced to hold our tabling event outside of the front entrance to the building.”
The event was a big success and the new faces who showed up were delighted to learn about and become reacquainted with the union. Two members signed their union cards that day to become dues-paying members.
“So many of our members have tried speaking up and fighting management mostly without union resources,” said Region 12 Field Representative Andrew Solar-Greco. “We really wanted to make sure that the employees at Sagamore that we represent know that they are not alone. They have the backing of their union.”
It is thanks to the help of Solar-Greco and Hall that negotiations have begun to make sure management adheres to the PEF contract when making shift changes. The nurses are also negotiating for a change to nursing shifts in general.
Across the nation, most nurses follow an industry standard that offers nurses a three-day, 12-hour work week. With few exceptions, nurses at Sagamore work four-day weeks.
“Sagamore has experienced high rates of turnover and staffing shortages in the nursing department,” said Hall. “The goal of the three-day work week is to improve retention rates and offer a more appealing schedule for nurses.”
As negotiations continue, Hall said she is optimistic. The culture at the facility is slowly changing, especially now with a more visible union presence.
“Many more nurses are finding their voice and engaging in their own advocacy,” said Solar-Greco. “They are engaging with us to file grievances and make sure management is held to the collectively bargained contract, which was agreed to by the State and PEF.”
Hall hopes to give dignity to all the nurses at Sagamore. She said that they deserve a workplace where they feel respected.
“The nursing department at Sagamore is filled with hard-working, talented people who are dedicated to providing a safe, positive and nurturing environment for their patients,” said Hall. “What we ask for in return is fair treatment and good-faith negotiations from management.”