Portside

Last night, nurses at Mount Sinai South Nassau voted by a majority to join the New York State Nurses Association, the largest union and professional association of registered nurses in New York State. The approximately 800 nurses at South Nassau represent the last non-union facility in the entire Mount Sinai health system.

NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, said: “The South Nassau nurses worked for too long without a voice, without adequate compensation, and without a seat at the table to improve care and uplift standards at the hospital. When nurses are in unions, we find standards rise and quality care increases. The nurses at South Nassau have banded together to make their lives and their patients’ lives better in the long run. We welcome them to the NYSNA family!”

On Tuesday, Nov. 22, a majority of nurses at Mount Sinai South Nassau on Long Island filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to select NYSNA as their union representative. The NLRB scheduled the union election for Jan. 12. The polls closed at 9:00 p.m.

The South Nassau nurses not only join NYSNA, but the strong and growing labor movement on Long Island. Late last month, the Long Island Federation of Labor sent a letter of support for the nurses to South Nassau CEO Adhi Sharma, MD. Dozens of unions signed onto the letter in solidarity. Despite the labor support, Mount Sinai South Nassau administration engaged in an intense anti-union campaign.

The organizing victory comes on the heels of the successful NYC nurse strike, where NYSNA nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital and Montefiore Medical Center went on strike for three days and achieved groundbreaking tentative agreements that improved safe staffing levels and enforcement, increased wages by approximately 19% over the three-year contract period, protected healthcare benefits, and improved pandemic health and safety and community benefits.

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The New York State Nurses Association represents more than 42,000 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. For more information, visit nysna.org.