Nurses Association staff union signs new contract

ALBANY, May 10, 2011 – The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) is pleased to announce that the association’s staff represented by the United Steelworkers (USW) have ratified a new three-year contract.

“This is a contract that works for the association, its members and its staff. I am pleased that we’ve brought these negotiations to a successful conclusion and can now return to focusing all of the association’s energy on representing our members and promoting issues of importance to the profession of nursing,” said Nurses Association CEO Tina Gerardi, MS, RN, CAE.

The Nurses Association has been negotiating a first contract for the past nine months with the United Steelworkers (USW), which represents field staff in the Economic & General Welfare (E&GW) program. E&GW is the Nurses Association’s union arm, serving about 36,000 registered nurses and some other healthcare professionals represented for collective bargaining purposes at hospitals and other healthcare facilities around the state.

“As responsible stewards of our members’ money, we feel that this contract is fair and reasonable,” Gerardi said. “We appreciate the efforts of the federal mediator, Commissioner Cynthia Jeffries, for assisting us with this very important work. I would like to thank all the parties involved for their perseverance, for working until we had a contract with the interests of our members at the core of the settlement.”

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.