NYSNA Update: September 26, 2025
Nurses at Northwell/Long Island Jewish file for Union Election to Join NYSNA!
On Wednesday, Sept. 24, a supermajority of nurses at Northwell Health/Long Island Jewish Medical Center (LIJ) filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a vote to join NYSNA! The NLRB will now set a date for an in-person election. If nurses win the election and the NLRB certifies the results, Northwell/LIJ nurses will join thousands of NYSNA members who already work at nine other Northwell facilities across New York.
Becker Hospital Review, Patch.com, and News 12 covered the news. Jean Butler, RN, a nurse at Northwell/LIJ said, “We have worked really hard over the past several months to show the hospital that we are united and that we will not stop until we are recognized as a union and our voice is respected. Nurses are overworked, burnt out, and are demanding more for the patients we care for and our coworkers! We are so excited for this election and to finally join NYSNA and have the strength of NYSNA nurses with us.”
Northwell/Huntington Nurses Advocate for Safe Staffing, a Fair Contract
Northwell/Huntington Hospital’s Local Bargaining Unit President Patricia Dowling, RN, authored a powerful opinion editorial in Patch.com, where she wrote about the importance of safe staffing to prevent incidents of workplace violence. Dowling shared her harrowing experience with workplace violence and made a strong case that safe staffing will improve both patient care and recruitment and retention for nurses at Northwell/Huntington Hospital. Dowling called on Northwell to guarantee safe staffing for nurses and patients by negotiating a fair contract. Read the full piece here.
President Hagans Presents at AFL-CIO Women’s Committee Meeting
On Sunday, Sept. 21, NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, BSN, RN, CCRN, addressed a meeting of the New York State AFL-CIO’s Women’s Committee, speaking on the human impact of Medicaid cuts and draconian immigration policies and the role that labor can play in fighting back. Nearly 1.2 million New Yorkers are set to lose their health insurance as a result of these cuts, and providers are already reporting a decline in immigrants seeking care out of fear of immigration enforcement.
“We need to think expansively about how to fight for protections in our union contracts — demanding transparency before the closure of health services, for example, fighting for greater access to care — and to fight for issues that affect those who cannot fight for themselves via a union,” Hagans said.
Hagans affirmed that nurses will never abandon their patients and will continue to fight because an attack on one is an attack on all.