NYSNA Nurses Hold Emergency Rally and Press Conference at New York City Health+Hospitals/Kings County After Nurse Leader Is Suspended For Safe Staffing Advocacy
For Immediate Release: Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026
Contact: Kristi Barnes l press@nysna.org l (646) 853-4489
Emma Alabaster l press@nysna.org l (917) 826-8646
NYSNA Nurses Hold Emergency Rally and Press Conference at New York City Health+Hospitals/Kings County After Nurse Leader Is Suspended For Safe Staffing Advocacy
Nurses demand immediate reinstatement of a nurse leader who was suspended for engaging in protected union activity
Nurses also demand that management respect safe staffing standards outlined in their contract
Brooklyn, N.Y.– NYSNA nurses held an emergency rally and press conference today in response to New York City Health+Hospitals (H+H)/Kings County Hospital’s decision to suspend a local nurse leader. A nurse practitioner and vice president of the local bargaining unit at the hospital was suspended without pay from H+H/Kings County on Friday, Oct. 9 for advocating for patient safety and discussing documented and long-standing staffing concerns raised by bedside nurses.
NYC Health+Hospitals suspended the NYSNA member without pay and limited her access to H+H facilities, despite not filing specific charges against her. Kings County nurses, hospital staff, and labor and community allies responded to the news of the nurse’s suspension by circulating a petition calling for her immediate reinstatement and compensation for lost wages; nearly 1,000 people have signed the petition since its launch.
During the rally and press conference, NYSNA members from Kings County demanded that hospital administrators reinstate the suspended nurse leader and stop retaliating against nurses for protected union activity. NYSNA will also file an improper practice charge against the health system.
Nurses spoke about how they had increased their safe staffing advocacy in recent weeks, learning more about using their contract and New York State law to enforce safe staffing standards. The City Reporter recently featured nurses’ concerns about chronic emergency department overcrowding and understaffing.
Jack McShane, RN, NYSNA member and emergency department nurse at Kings County Hospital, said: “This is a fight to protect our rights to enforce our safe staffing ratios, to fight for healthcare worker and patient safety and to organize our union. This is about whether or not we as nurses are going to accept a culture of intimidation and retaliation, where we aren’t allowed to discuss and organize around working conditions with our co-workers. I’ll tell you right now: we will not!”
“We are talking about an experienced and dedicated nurse practitioner being suspended without pay for advocating for the tools needed to improve safety and patient care. That is unacceptable, and we are so pleased that our Health+Hospitals frontline staff and Brooklyn community is protesting this egregious act of worker intimidation,” said NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN.
“When a nurse is suspended for speaking up about patient safety and staffing concerns, every worker in New York City should be concerned,” said Brendan Griffith, President of the New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO. “Nurses have the right to advocate for their patients and hold management accountable to the contracts they've negotiated, without fear of retaliation. The New York City Labor Movement stands with NYSNA in demanding that H+H lift this suspension, respect nurses' union rights, and honor its staffing commitments.”
NYSNA Executive Director Pat Kane, RN, said: “I am profoundly disappointed that NYC Health+Hospitals, an institution that saved New York during the COVID-19 pandemic and must be a lifeline again for New Yorkers who are losing access to care because of the federal attacks on healthcare, would decide to target our members for advocating for safe staffing. As frontline experts in patient care, we are always preparing for the next healthcare crisis and advocating for enough staff and resources to deliver quality care to every patient. At a time when thousands of immigrant healthcare workers have lost their jobs and we can expect an influx of uninsured and underinsured patients to flood city hospitals, the H+H administration should be working with NYSNA nurses to address chronic understaffing, not fighting against us and unfairly disciplining nurses for being patient advocates.”
“Safe staffing is essential to quality patient care. Nurses at Kings County deserve the resources and support to care for every patient with the attention and dignity they deserve,” said Assemblymember Brian A. Cunningham. “I stand with NYSNA in calling on hospital leadership to address staffing concerns and prioritize recruiting and retaining bedside nurses. Our community depends on Kings County, and investing in its nurses is an investment in Brooklyn’s health,” said Assemblymember Brian Cunningham.
“By suspending a nurse for engaging in protected union activity, H&H is showing a shocking disregard for their staff and patients. H&H must reinstate NP Dowd immediately and reaffirm their commitment to the safe staffing standards outlined in the nurses' collective bargaining agreement. As a nurse myself, I cannot stand by when fellow nurses are unjustly punished for speaking up about their working conditions,” said Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest.
New York City Council Member Rita Joseph said: “Workers rights’ to organize are non-negotiable. H+H and Kings County Hospital need to immediately reinstate the improperly suspended nurse and respect the terms of the agreement. I stand with the NYSNA. Union busting is disgusting!”
“No one should face retaliation for standing up for patient safety and calling out dangerous staffing conditions," said Carolyn Martinez-Class, Co-Executive Director of Citizen Action of New York. "Kings County healthcare workers deserve management that respects their union rights, honors their contract, and puts patients first. We stand with NYSNA nurses in demanding accountability and will not back down until their rights are respected."
###
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.