With the clock now officially ticking, nurses at St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson started a strike countdown on Tuesday after their union delivered a formal 10‑day strike notice to hospital executives. If negotiations do not produce a deal, the small Catholic Health facility will be on track for a walkout starting Monday, July 13.
Earlier this month, an overwhelming majority of the roughly 300 registered nurses represented at St. Charles voted to authorize strike action, a show of force the union says gives it the legal authority to call a walkout if talks stall. According to the New York State Nurses Association, nurses have repeatedly raised alarms about unsafe staffing levels and contract language they argue leaves patient care exposed when units are stretched thin.
Catholic Health, which operates St. Charles, counters that it has been bargaining in good faith and has put multiple proposals on the table on wages and staffing. In a statement to Patch, the system said it has attended numerous bargaining sessions and remains committed to reaching an agreement.
What is Driving the Showdown
Nurses point to chronic short‑staffing on core units and a backlog of staffing complaints as the flash points that pushed them toward a possible strike. The dispute is unfolding amid a broader wave of hospital labor actions in the region this year, including a major strike in New York City earlier in January that union leaders say emboldened Long Island bargaining teams to take tougher stances. NBC New York reported on those citywide walkouts and the staffing reforms unions secured from several health systems.
Legal and Procedural Notes
Under the union’s process, a strike can only be called after the bargaining committee issues a 10‑day notice, a step NYSNA said it completed on June 30. The dispute is also taking shape under New York’s clinical staffing law, which requires hospitals to adopt staffing plans and maintain clinical staffing committees, with complaint and enforcement pathways spelled out in statute and state guidance detailed by the New York State Senate. NYSNA said a state Department of Health investigation and the union’s related complaints have been central to its bargaining demands.
If St. Charles nurses do walk out, the hospital could scale back elective services and rely on agency or travel nurses to cover shifts, a pattern seen in other Long Island bargaining fights this year. Some Northwell units reached tentative deals last winter after strike pressure mounted, a dynamic unions have used repeatedly on the Island, according to Long Island Press.
Both sides say they will continue negotiating through the notice period, while community leaders watch to see whether Catholic Health and NYSNA can land a deal that eases chronic staffing strains. Crain's New York Business also reported on the countdown and the union’s move to deliver a strike notice.
