NYSNA Members at UVMH-Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital Overwhelmingly Ratify New Contract Agreement

For immediate release: Oct. 22, 2026  

Contact: Joseph Celestin | press@nysna.org | 518-776-8337  
Madeline St. Amour | madelinestamour@nysna.org | 518-368-8250

NYSNA Members at UVMH-Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital Overwhelmingly Ratify New Contract Agreement

NYSNA members secure a contract that maintains their health benefits, delivers fair wages to help recruit and retain nurses for safe staffing, and improves protections from workplace violence, artificial intelligence and layoffs.

NYSNA members at all three UVMH hospitals in New York have now won strong union contracts. North Country nurses continue to bargain for a fair contract at Adirondack Medical Center.

Plattsburgh, N.Y. – On Thursday, Oct. 22, New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) nurses and healthcare professionals at University of Vermont Health-Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (UVMH-CVPH) voted overwhelmingly to ratify a new four-year contract. 97% of NYSNA members voted yes to ratify the new contract. This victory comes after nearly a year at the bargaining table, an informational picket and a marathon 24-hour bargaining session on Oct. 15-16, where NYSNA nurses and healthcare professionals were able to reach a tentative agreement with management.  

Highlights of the contract include:  

• Safe staffing improvements, including a staffing committee to monitor clinical areas not included in the staffing law, and an enforceable staffing policy for when there is a persistent failure to staff units according to the staffing plan submitted to the state.  
• Fair wages to help recruit and retain nurses and healthcare professionals for safe staffing, including yearly wage increases of 3%, retroactive to January 2026.    
• Additional pay step to encourage staff retention.
  Improved protections against workplace violence, including paid time off for recovery and a commitment to install a weapons detection system.
• New protections against artificial intelligence.  
• Stronger layoff protections.  
• Maintained health benefits.

NYSNA Eastern Regional Director Vicki Davis-Courson, MSN, RN, said: “NYSNA nurses and healthcare professionals at UVMH-CVPH work tirelessly to provide safe, quality care to our patients. Winning this strong union contract will help us continue to do that work for our community and the people of the North Country. We are proud of our members for staying united and firm throughout this fight, so we could win a fair contract that will help us deliver safe, quality patient care to the people of the North Country.”

Securing enforceable safe staffing language was a priority for nurses and healthcare professionals during this contract fight. Over the last year, nurses and healthcare professionals have held numerous speak-outs at the hospital, demanding that CVPH management take accountability for consistently understaffing the hospital. After little movement from management, NYSNA members held an informational picket in May, alongside elected officials and community members, to reiterate their demands for safe staffing.  

NYSNA members engaged their community and allies in labor throughout their fight for a fair contract. Plattsburgh businesses hung signs showing their support for nurses and healthcare professionals and amplifying their call for a fair contract that includes safe staffing. Nurses and healthcare professionals also worked collaboratively with union workers at UVM Medical Center who were also bargaining for a fair contract. NYSNA members joined Vermont Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals and UVM Medical Center Support Staff United at an informational picket in Burlington and delivered a joint demand letter to the president of the UVMH Board of Trustees.

NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, said, “North Country nurses are showing up and getting the job done, winning great contracts that protect quality patient care and deliver good union jobs with good benefits to their communities. This is a critical time when more and more of our community members are losing their healthcare coverage due to federal healthcare funding cuts. NYSNA is proud to see our members fight to preserve access to quality care in every part of our state.”

Last fall, NYSNA members in the North Country launched a coordinated bargaining campaign, demanding contracts that protect nurse and patient safety, and ensure access to care for North Country residents. UVMH-CVPH was the last New York hospital in the University of Vermont Health system to settle a fair contract with its nurses and healthcare workers, after nurses at North Star Health Alliance/Carthage Area Hospital, North Star Health Alliance/Claxton-Hepburn Medical Campus, Samaritan Medical Center, UVMH-Alice Hyde Medical Center, and UVMH-Elizabethtown Community Hospital won fair contracts earlier this year. Nurses at Adirondack Medical Center are continuing to fight for a fair contract that includes access to the NYSNA Benefit Fund.

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The New York State Nurses Association represents approximately 45,000 members in New York State. We are New York’s largest union and professional association for registered nurses. NYSNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United, AFL-CIO, the country's largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses, with more than 225,000 members nationwide.