For Immediate Release
Contact: Erin Silk, 518.782.9400, ext 224
LATHAM, March 10, 2011 - The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) is outraged at the Wisconsin State Senate vote last night to strip many public workers there of key collective bargaining rights. The measure was originally part of a budget bill, but because the Senate was not able to get a quorum, the union-busting provisions were separated out, proving that this move was never about the state’s fiscal crisis.
“An attack on one union is an attack on all. The cowardly decisions of a few do not speak for the majority of American workers who respect the collective bargaining process and deserve a voice in their workplace. This is a systematic effort to blame public employees for a fiscal crisis they didn’t cause,” said Tina Gerardi, MS, RN, CAE, CEO of the Nurses Association, which represents registered nurses, including several all professional bargaining units in New York and New Jersey.
The attack on unions is not limited to Wisconsin, as labor fights back in Ohio, New Jersey and right here in New York state. The Nurses Association stands with its union brothers and sisters across the nation in demanding that more than 50 years of union rights in Wisconsin not be undone in an end-run measure that destroys workers’ rights to effectively join together as a union.
The New York State Nurses Association is the voice for nursing in the Empire State. With more than 37,000 members, it is the state's largest professional association and union for registered nurses. It supports nurses and nursing practice through education, research, legislative advocacy, and collective bargaining.
- 30 -