For Immediate Release

Contact: Bernie Mulligan, 212.785.0157, ext. 140/518.469.2035
Photo opportunity: Thousands of nurses rallying for safe staffing legislation

New York nurses' union charts aggressive new course

4,000 nurses gather to vote, transform their union

NEW YORK CITY, May 15, 2012 — This Thursday, 4,000 working bedside nurses, members of the New York State Nurses Association, will gather to set a new, aggressive course for their union, when they meet at the Jacob Javits Center North Hall, 655 West 34th St, Manhattan.

The New York State Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the state.

Leaders of the Association will hold a press conference at 4:00 PM at the entrance to the Javits Center North Hall.

They will discuss their new goal of passing statewide legislation mandating safe nurse-to-patient staffing ratios and to discuss the members' decisions made during the day-long meeting to transform their union into a more responsive and democratic organization - to meet the needs of working nurses and the hundreds of thousands of patients they serve each year.

NYSNA has more than 37,000 members across the state. They include the more than 8,000 NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation nurses, now fighting Mayor Bloomberg and HHC for a fair contact and safe staffing, as well as the thousands of members from New York state's leading private hospitals - Presbyterian, Montefiore, Mt. Sinai and St. Luke's-Roosevelt - who waged highly visible contract fights for safe staffing, affordable health benefits and fair wages last winter. Nurses at Erie County Medical Center and Westchester Medical Center are NYSNA members, as are nurses at dozens of other community hospitals, clinics and school districts across the state.

“Our union is unique,” said Patricia Donahue, an RN from Ellis Hospital in Schenectady. “We speak for ourselves and our families, but we also speak for our communities and our patients, and their need for quality health care.”

This meeting caps a year of transformation in the union, which saw new leadership elected in the fall and unprecedented member activity in last winter's successful contract fights that sparked citywide and national news coverage.

NYSNA will now take a leading role on the principal healthcare issue for New York’s caregivers - strong nurse-to-patient staffing ratios.

“We will take this fight from Manhattan to Albany, from the hospital floors to management’s offices, to whomever is blocking our way,” said Judy Sheridan Gonzalez, president of the local bargaining unit at Montefiore Medical Center, Moses Division, “Our message is simple: We are nurses. We know what works. Safe staffing saves lives.”

BACKGROUND ON NEW YORK STATE NURSES ASSOCIATION MAY 17 MEETING

The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) is the union representing 37,000 registered nurses, and the oldest professional nursing association in the country.
On May 17, nurses will vote on a series of changes to NYSNA’s bylaws, the rules that govern how the union is run.
The proposed changes will make NYSNA more responsive to the needs of bedside nurses and their patients.
Under the new rules, the elected leaders of NYSNA will have full power to set the course of the organization. Old NYSNA rules prevented elected leaders from having a say on organizational support and resources to win good contracts, support strikes and other union business.
The union will eliminate the position of CEO and replace it with an Executive Director – to better reflect core union values of democracy and accountability.
The new rules allow only working bedside nurses to serve as elected leaders of the organization – ensuring that working nurses set the agenda for the union.
Nurses are launching a new statewide, coordinated campaign to pass legislation mandating safe nurse-to-patient staffing ratios.

The New York State Nurses Association is the voice for nursing in the Empire State. With more than 37,000 members, it is New York’s largest professional association and union for registered nurses. The association represents registered nurses, and some all-professional bargaining units, in New York and New Jersey. It supports nurses and nursing practice through education, research, legislative advocacy, and collective bargaining.

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