WATERTOWN, N.Y. -- Breaking news out of Watertown.

The nurses at Samaritan Medical Center have voted to go on strike.

They issued the hospital a ten-day notice Tuesday afternoon.

The strike will be for one day, September 1st.

Nurses at the hospitals say they have been working day and night without contracts.

One of the main issues they tell me is a staffing crisis that exists at all three hospitals. Nurses have raised concerns about inadequate staffing of RNs in numerous departments.

They say Adequate nurse-to-patient staffing improves patient mortality rates and overall quality of care, as well as reduces turnover rates, staffing costs, and liability. 

"I am scheduled to work three 12-hour shifts a week, but I am doing 16-hour shifts almost every shift so my patients can be cared for safely.  We need more qualified staff to work in our department so we can provide safe, quality care to our patients,” said Desiree Fuller, RN, Samaritan Medical Center.

"In units such as the maternity unit, it is essential to have proper staffing not only for the new mothers, but also for the newborns.  That’s why we insist on having safe staffing in our contract. The patients deserve nothing less,” said Debbie LaMora, RN, NYSNA Chairperson, Samaritan Medical Center.

Jill Schloemer, RN, Samaritan Medical Center said, "I have never seen staffing this bad in the 26 years I have been with Samaritan.  I hope this action will help us achieve safer staffing for the patients we serve on a daily basis. If we the RNs don't stand up for our patients' safety, who will?"

"The nurses at Samaritan are fighting for safe staffing because lives depend on it," said Mandy Bray, RN, Samaritan Medical Center.

Susan Shavit, RN, Samaritan Medical Center said, "Staffing conditions have consistently declined with too few RNs to safely take care of our laboring and post partum moms.  Our patients come from our military and civilian communities. They are our families, our friends and our co-workers. We need more trained RNs to safely take care of our patients because they deserve it."

The New York State Nurses Association has filed charges against Samaritan Medical Center for interfering with employee rights under federal labor law.

UPDATE from Samaritan Medical Center Spokesperson Krista Kittle:

The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), the union representing over 390 Registered Nurses at Samaritan Medical Center, issued a Notice of Intent to Strike to the hospital earlier today. According to the notice, SMC’s Registered Nurses are planning a one-day work stoppage on Thursday, September 1, 2016 beginning at 7 a.m. Samaritan Medical Center has learned that NYSNA is planning two other strikes around the same time: St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Utica, New York, also received a Notice of Intent to Strike from NYSNA for a September 1st strike, the same date as Registered Nurses at Samaritan Medical Center, and Nathan Littauer Hospital in Gloversville, New York, received notice that NYSNA-represented nurses intend to strike on September 2 and 3, 2016. This will be the second recent strike at Nathan Littauer – its first occurred earlier this year. 

“While it appears the strike notice issued to Samaritan may be part of a larger state-wide NYSNA agenda, it’s unfortunate that these negotiations have come to this point after many months of bargaining,” states Krista A. Kittle, SMC Spokeswoman. “Since our Registered Nurses have decided to exercise their right to strike, it is Samaritan’s obligation to ensure that members of our community have uninterrupted access to quality medical care by healthcare professionals. We will keep our doors open and will be properly and safely staffed with temporary replacement workers.”

SMC and NYSNA have held 22 negotiating sessions during the current negotiations, with a federal mediator in attendance at the last three sessions. 

“Samaritan will continue negotiating in good faith in hopes of reaching an agreement as quickly as possible,” Ms. Kittle said.   

Another negotiating session is scheduled for August 24. 

This strike will also happen at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica for many of the same reasons.

The Union is meeting in Albany tonight to discuss the future.