This year, Juneteenth is acknowledged as a contractually recognized holiday. 

Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. It originated in 1865: the day a general rode into Galveston, Texas and announced the end of the Civil War and the freedom of enslaved people -- over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation and two months after the end of the Civil War. 

Juneteenth is a day to celebrate Black freedom, achievement, history, and culture. It’s also a reminder that our country was founded on a history of oppression and that, to this day, systemic racism creates barriers to freedom, including, but certainly not limited to, health care. 

In our latest contract negotiations, we fought for and won Juneteenth as a holiday.

This year, Juneteenth falls on a Sunday (June 19, 2022). However, premium pay applies on the day the holiday is "legally celebrated". Juneteenth is legally celebrated on June 19th except when it falls on a Sunday, in which case it is legally celebrated the following Monday (June 20th). Please keep the following in mind:

• All units are scheduled to be open on Monday, June 20th. That includes procedural units as well as MEETH. Northwell has no plans to close any unit on Monday, June 20th at LHH, MEETH, or LHGV.
• Juneteenth is legally celebrated this year on Monday, June 20th. Meaning, those who work on June 20th will earn time and a half on that day and earn an additional 7.5 holiday hours.
• Juneteenth is not considered a "summer holiday" as defined by the CBA.
• On call: Employees required to be on call on June 20th (12:00 am - 11:59 pm) will receive an additional day off with regular pay as a holiday (Article XI, Section 3(c)).

NYPNU is in process of developing a program to acknowledge Juneteenth. If you would like to be a part of this project, please contact me at [email protected].