New Hyde Park, NY – Nurses employed at Northwell Health/Long Island Jewish Medical Center (LIJ) have filed a petition to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to vote to join the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), the largest Union and Professional Association of Registered Nurses (RNs) in New York State.
The Northwell/LIJ Nurses, who have been organizing for months and demanding safe staffing for safe patient care, put together an Organizing Committee and fought to build support at their facility with a signature campaign where a super-majority of Nurses signed a petition authorizing NYSNA to represent them.
The NLRB will now set a date for an in-person election. When Nurses win the election and the NLRB certifies the results, the Caregivers will join thousands of NYSNA Members who already work at nine other Northwell Facilities across New York.
RN Jean Butler, who works in the Ambulatory Surgery Unit (ASU), said, “We’ve 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 Co-Workers! We are so excited for this election and to finally join NYSNA and have the strength of NYSNA Nurses with us.”
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said: “NYSNA Nurses continue to build power on Long Island and throughout New York. They consistently advocate for their patients and show that the working conditions of Nurses directly impact the quality care patients receive. As the largest private employer in the State, Northwell has the responsibility to provide the best care possible and to treat its Workers with respect. They can and should do better. LIJ Nurses should know that they have the strength of our entire Union with them in this fight!”
NYSNA Nurses continue to bargain for fair contracts at three other Northwell facilities on Long Island – Northwell/ Plainview, Syosset and Huntington Hospitals.
NYSNA Nurses across New York have won strong contracts in recent years, including at Northwell South Shore University Hospital earlier this year, and at LIJ Valley Stream, Peconic Bay Medical Center and Staten Island University Hospital in 2024. NYSNA is now the voice of RNs throughout the Northwell System, representing more than 4,000 members at seven facilities throughout Long Island and Staten Island. When Northwell acquired Nuvance Health earlier this year, another 1,070 NYSNA Nurses at two hospitals joined the Northwell System at Vassar Brothers Medical Center and Putnam Hospital.
NYSNA – which represents more than 42,000 members across the State, is New York’s largest Union and Professional Association for RNs.
NYSNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United, the country’s largest and fastest-growing Union and Professional Association of Registered Nurses, with more than 225,000 Members nationwide.
