NYSNA Update: November 6, 2026
NYSNA Champions Win Big in the 2026 General Election
This week, our union-backed labor and healthcare champions won big in the 2026 general election! At the top of the ticket, our statewide candidates led a blue wave that will help us in our campaigns for safe staffing, workplace safety, union rights and healthcare for all. And our work knocking on doors and hitting the phones proved crucial lower down the ticket in ensuring that priority districts remain labor strongholds, led by allies who will fight for nurses, stand with us in our contract campaigns and protect working people. Over the course of this election season, Team NYSNA made 60,000 calls and knocked on 15,000 doors — great work to everyone who joined in the fight to protect our democracy, our patients and our practice!
The work done during this election cycle was hugely impactful and will, without question, make a difference in the lives of New Yorkers and people across the country. The shifts in both our state legislature and Congress could prove to be the difference in the many fights ahead. But it is reassuring to see so many Americans come out to the polls and take a stand for working people.
Despite Tuesday’s victories — across the state and the country — there’s still more work to be done. In the coming legislative session, we will continue to work with our key allies, and alongside our newly elected allies, to address the federal healthcare cuts and secure funding for our safety-net and rural-access hospitals. And in the new year, we’ll begin planning for future battlegrounds and the 2028 presidential election. This election has made it clearer than ever: When nurses make our voices heard, our communities win!
Northwell Health/Putnam Hospital Nurses Launch Email Action Ahead of Info-Picket
This week, after holding a successful virtual town-hall meeting and ahead of their informational picket on Nov. 12, NYSNA nurses at Northwell Health/Putnam Hospital launched an email action, encouraging community members to email their hospital president to demand a fair contract for nurses and patients. Putnam nurses have been bargaining for over a year, but Northwell continues to drag its feet at the bargaining table and push for nurse-to-patient ratios that would make it harder to deliver safe, quality care. Putnam nurses will never accept a contract that puts patient care at risk, so they are ramping up their campaign to tell Northwell: It’s time to listen to your nurses and prioritize patients over profits! Keep up the great work, Putnam nurses!
NYSNA Nurses Gather for Hudson Valley Interregional Meeting
On Tuesday, Nov. 3, NYSNA members from Northwell/Vassar Brothers Medical Center, Northwell/Putnam Hospital, HealthAlliance Hudson Valley and the Arlington Central School District gathered for their holiday interregional meeting to discuss recent wins, share issues across facilities, and opportunities to work together in ongoing and upcoming contract campaigns. This election night was a fitting time for nurses to come together and reflect on the victories we’ve won by working together as a union!