NYSNA Online Exclusive

NYSNA joins city union bargaining coalition

NYSNA and several other New York City unions have agreed to negotiate jointly with the city during their next round of contract negotiations.

At a news conference on June 23, 19 unions representing almost 180,000 city employees announced that they have formed a coalition to bargain wages and benefits. Among the other unions in the group are the United Federation of Teachers, the Committee of Interns and Residents, SEIU 1199, the CWA, the Teamsters, and sanitation workers.

Nancy Kaleda, senior associate director of NYSNA’s collective bargaining program, said the unions’ collective voice will be stronger and louder than the voice of any one union. “The mayor will not be able to pick the unions apart if we all negotiate together,” she said. The executive council of NYSNA nurses who work for the city Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) has voted unanimously to participate in the coalition.

“As tough as this most recent round of bargaining was for us, we anticipate the next round to be tougher,” Kaleda said. We cannot allow our nurses to be without a contract for more than three years as they were last time.”

Any agreement reached between the city and the coalition would be subject to each union’s own ratification process. In addition, only wages and health benefits would be negotiated through the coalition – other provisions would be handled separately by each union.

It is not yet known whether the city will agree to bargain with the coalition.

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With more than 34,000 members, NYSNA is the oldest and largest state nurses’ association in the nation. It is an influential union for RNs, representing nurses in New York and New Jersey. Offering a wide range of services to its members, NYSNA fosters high standards of nursing education and practice and works to advance the profession through legislative activity. It is a constituent of the American Nurses Association and of the United American Nurses, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.