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Hospital workers picket outside PBMC for fair contracts

Nearly 600 caregivers at Peconic Bay Medical Center (PBMC) have been fighting for a fair contract since October 2024 — today, after months of working under an expired agreement, dozens of these employees picketed outside the Riverhead hospital to make their demands known to Northwell Health and the community they care for.

Alexandra Ryan, 1199SEIU union contract administrator for Peconic Bay, said Northwell approved two out of the three yearly raises for a contract extension for employees at other branch hospitals on Long Island. The raises were 7% in 2023, 6% in 2024 and the last will be 5% in October 2025.

When hospital workers at PBMC asked for the same, they were only offered roughly a 2% to 3% wage increase, she said.

“[The base rate] is lower than the rest of Northwell — we’re just asking for annual raises for everyone,” Ms. Ryan said. “A lot of my members here work two jobs and they’re just scraping by — some of the rates are 5% lower, some of them are like 19% to 25% lower.”

The original union contract for 1199SEIU — the United Healthcare Workers East — expired in November 2024, however both Northwell Health and bargaining unit members agreed to extend it through Jan. 10. Since then, nursing assistants, transporters, housekeepers, dietary staff, secretaries and other 1199SEIU employees at PBMC have been working without a collective bargaining agreement.

Just a year ago, PBMC nurses and health care workers — who stated they are the “lowest-paid” in their profession on Long Island — stood in the same spot demanding better wages and safe staffing improvements. They voted Feb. 21, 2024, to ratify three-year contracts with Northwell, averting a strike.

Chants echoed along Heroes Way today as picketers shouted out “3% can’t pay the rent” and “To win this fight, we must unite,” while blowing whistles and shaking noisemakers at passing drivers, who honked support. Suffolk County District 2 Legislator Ann Welker, Skylar Johnson from the Riverhead Town Democrats and Imran Ansari, political director of the Long Island Federation of Labor, showed up to advocate for the workers as well.

The hour-long picket was not a strike, but rather an informational demonstration held during the workers’ unpaid lunch break. The next round of negotiations between union leaders and Northwell is scheduled for Wednesday.

Kat Nogueras, a nursing tech/unit secretary in the obstetrics department who has been at the hospital for 21 years, said there has been some progress, but both parties are still at “a standstill” in agreeing to equal wages for equal work as their other Northwell colleagues. She admitted to also working two jobs to support herself and her young son.

“I want to spend more time with him, not spend time doing two jobs, away from him,” Ms. Nogueras said. “These people work very hard, they are very passionate in what they do — we just want what’s fair is fair, in love and war, as they say.”

Jessica Seymore a unit secretary for the surgical pavilion and hospital employee for 10 years, said the workers’ dedication to the patient experience is evident in the positive feedback they receive, as well as the accolades, such as the most recently awarded Gold Beacon Award — a prestigious recognition for the orthopedic team in Surgical Pavilion 1 for providing the highest level of individualized patient care.

“We work hard to make our patients comfortable — we go above and beyond every day,” Ms. Seymore said. “It’s no lapse in care for our patients, and it shows, and we just need a fair and equitable contract.”

Ms. Seymore expressed how “degrading” it feels to see other up-Island Northwell employees receiving better pay, and PBMC staff not getting the same treatment.

“Northwell acquired us at a decent bargain, and they got off scot-free with not having to do anything for us because we were self-sustaining out here,” Ms. Seymore said. “We just needed a big umbrella, but the umbrella has to move aside and let the sunshine get here.”

Shannon Mihalitsianos, an emergency room patient access staffer and 10-year PBMC employee, is responsible for registering all patients, handling admissions, and taking copays, insurance information and other necessary details at the front desk, as well as on the ER floor. She said there is a misconception that PBMC is “not as busy” as other Northwell hospitals — which the health care provider describes as being “not in the league.”

“It’s busy out here on the East End now — [PBMC] has been making all these extensions and adding on, it’s gotten a lot busier,” Ms. Mihalitsianos said. “It’s not like a small, little community hospital. We’ve definitely grown, and we just want to be met up with all the other [Northwell] counterparts.”

Northwell Health issued a statement that supported the workers’ right to conduct informational picketing. They further assured patients and community members that the demonstration was not a strike and would not impact the hospital’s normal operations.

“Providing uninterrupted, high-quality care remains our top priority,” the statement read. “We are committed to continuing constructive, good-faith negotiations with 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East to reach a fair contract that supports our team members and upholds the high-quality care our patients deserve.”

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated and corrected.