Dear Friend,

NEW Protesting Your Assignment Self-Guided Course

Just in time for Nurses’ Week, NYSNA’s Nursing Education and Practice (NEP) department has a new “Protesting Your Assignment” self-guided course. Click here to read more about the course and how you can use Protests of Assignment to improve safe, quality healthcare. To access the course, go directly to the E-LearRN website.

NYSNA Nurses Support New York for All in Albany!

On Tuesday, Apr. 21, NYSNA nurses stood in Albany to support the New York for All Act with the New York Immigration Coalition, New York American Civil Liberties Union and other allies. We believe that all New Yorkers, regardless of immigration status, should be able to lead open lives in our state, participate in their communities, provide for their families and access healthcare without intimidation. The New York for All Act will preserve state and local resources for our communities and ensure that our administration cannot divert New York dollars to carry out a cruel, politicized immigration agenda. Passing this legislation would prohibit New York’s state and local government agencies, including police and sheriffs, from colluding with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), disclosing sensitive information, and diverting personnel or other resources to further federal immigration enforcement. NYSNA nurses stand with our patients and our communities for policies that protect all New Yorkers. Learn more and sign the petition to urge Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature to pass the New York for All Act!

NYSNA and Union Coalition Demand Gov. Hochul Tax the Rich in Sign-On Letter

Earlier this week, NYSNA joined nearly a dozen unions and sent a letter to Hochul urging her to take action to raise the funds we need to care for our communities by taxing the rich. Collectively, the unions represent more than 300,000 workers and are demanding that Hochul stand with working families who are taking on the affordability crisis rather than the ultra-wealthy. Read the full letter and the demands here, and read the Chief’s coverage.

Healthcare Workers Join Union Coalition Call to Protect Patients and Workers

On Monday, April 20, union healthcare workers from NYSNA, 1199SEIU, Committee of Interns and Residents/SEIU, Doctors Council/SEIU, and Communications Workers of America joined over Zoom to talk about how we can prepare and advocate for our immigrant communities. Lawyers and union leaders explained our rights and our patients’ rights and how to navigate challenging situations. Healthcare workers then went through several potential scenarios and discussed best practices. With the increased presence of ICE in our hospitals, it’s essential that we know our rights and how we can best protect our communities. For more resources about how you and your coworkers can protect your communities, check out this list of legal resources related to immigration.

The Brooklyn Hospital Center Nurses Win Battle to Restore Health and Pension Benefits

Congratulations, The Brooklyn Hospital Center nurses! You successfully fought to restore the critical health and pension benefits that you need to effectively and safely care for your community and overwhelmingly ratified your contract! Read more about what The Brooklyn Hospital Center nurses were up against.

ECMC Nurses Fight for Their Communities

In Buffalo, NYSNA nurses at Erie County Medical Center ramp up their campaign for Paid Family Leave, which provides job-protected paid time off to care for a new child, to be with a family member with a serious health condition, or to assist when a family member or loved one is abroad on active deployment. To learn more and support their campaign, click here.

ECMC nurses’ work is not only within the walls of their facility. They are dedicated to helping the community. ECMC nurses have partnered with Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit housing organization, and have helped build three houses to date. ECMC nurses are dedicated to being present in their communities and are always willing to step in to do more.

Sign the Carthage-Claxton Petition

Earlier this year, bankruptcy at Northstar/Carthage Area Hospital and Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center put patient care in the North Country at risk. Closures of healthcare services over the last decade have already forced North Country patients to travel long distances or forgo care entirely. This is unacceptable.

Although the New York State Department of Health recently committed to providing the funds needed to stabilize both hospitals, nurses will continue to fight to ensure that rural hospitals remain open and able to provide the safe, quality patient care that North Country residents deserve. Sign the petition to join nurses in demanding that New York state fund our rural hospitals!

Save the Date: May Day Rally

Every year, workers across the world rise up and rally to celebrate working people and the labor movement. This year, workers are rallying across New York to defend workers’ rights. Join the labor movement and allies across the state to march against attacks on workers. We’re united in our resolve to fight for a better future for ALL workers abroad and at home, including those targeted by this administration. To save the date, click here, and share this flyer with your coworkers.

Spring 2026 Labor Education Trainings Open for Registration

NYSNA’s Labor Education Department trains members on how to become more engaged in the union’s work. It’s not too late to sign up for our four-part Leadership Training taking place starting next week on four consecutive Thursdays: April 30, May 7, May 14 and May 21. While taking all four parts is recommended, we encourage members to take as many as possible, with more trainings planned for the future. You can register here and please share with your coworkers!

On Tuesday, Apr. 28, join members from across the union via Zoom to learn about “Taking Control of Our Meetings with Management.” Members will learn how to prepare, how to present the union’s position to management and how to make sure there is meaningful follow-through. Also, check out two more workshops in May that include tips on filling out a Protest of Assignment and how to use it as an organizing tool as well as how to increase turnout at union meetings and events. Download and share Labor Education’s updated full spring schedule here, and look out for our summer schedule soon.

Please email [email protected] directly if you have questions or to schedule a workshop in your facility.

Save the Date: Legislative Lobby Day on May 5

Protecting our patients and ensuring nurses are able to give the best care possible requires using our political power to get the policies that protect nurses and patients. Going to Albany and speaking directly with legislators is an essential part of that work. Join NYSNA members in Albany for a legislative lobby day to make sure legislators hear our voices and protect our communities. Sign up by the end of the day using this form, and help spread the word by downloading and sharing the flyer.

Tell Albany: Don’t Leave Patients Home All Alone!

There is a proposal in the state budget to leave patients Home All Alone instead of in hospitals with 24/7 quality care. Under Hospital at Home programs, healthcare professionals monitor patients virtually in their homes instead of receiving around-the-clock expert care. Help us sound the alarm about this proposal that puts patient safety at risk. Learn more and sign the petition today!

Take Action to Fix Tier 6!

All workers deserve to retire with dignity and respect. That’s why New York state needs to take action now to Fix Tier 6! Tier 6 is the retirement plan for New York state’s public employees who joined the program after April 2012. This plan makes enrollees pay into the program for their entire careers at higher rates than previous plans and prevents enrollees from retiring before age 63 without facing heavy penalties. Tier 6 leads to significantly reduced pensions, which disincentivize New Yorkers — including nurses — from working in the public sector. In light of federal attacks on healthcare funding, our state legislators must do everything possible to help public sector hospitals recruit and retain enough nurses to safely care for the New Yorkers who need it most! To take action to fix Tier 6, use this form to email your legislators today!

Your Rights to Advocate for Patients When Encountering ICE

Nurses’ first duty is to care for and advocate for our patients. NYSNA nurses care for all New Yorkers regardless of immigration status, income or insurance status, race, religion, ability or disability, sexuality, or gender identity or expression — simply regardless. Read our statement regarding the federal policy change on immigration enforcement in “sensitive locations,” including hospitals and schools.

Our allies at the New York Immigration Coalition developed this toolkit to provide a comprehensive list of resources for community members, partners and allies who work with immigrants. The toolkit covers health, community safety, family resources, financial empowerment and more.

Learn your rights and get answers to frequently asked questions here to know what to do if you encounter ICE officers in your facility.

NYSNA has also prepared this list of legal resources related to immigration. Please review and share widely.

April Is Workplace Violence Prevention Month

Workplace violence remains one of the biggest concerns for NYSNA members. While workplace violence rates have fallen overall in the U.S., they continue to rise in the healthcare workplace. Unfortunately, nurses are the most frequent victims. A new law and new contract language aim to protect healthcare workers from workplace violence.

The New York State Department of Labor Public Employee Safety and Health Bureau has had a workplace violence prevention standard for many years. However, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has no similar protection for private sector workers. A new New York State Department of Health law, which covers both public and private sector general hospitals and nursing homes, will soon require these healthcare facilities to conduct workplace violence assessments and create workplace violence prevention plans. The law requires the active participation of employees and their union representatives in this process. Find more information on the law here.

While laws and standards are important, NYSNA members know that their collective bargaining agreements provide the best protection. In recent bargaining, many NYSNA facilities won a variety of workplace violence protections, including weapon detections systems, patient and visitor access controls, personal duress systems (wearable alarms) and behavioral health emergency response teams. Find more information on recent contract health and safety wins here. Hats off to the thousands of members and dozens of committees that made these advances possible!

Communicating About Measles for Health Professionals

Public health officials, healthcare providers and health communicators are on the front lines of conversations about measles and vaccination. Join us online on Tuesday, April 28, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. to get the latest data; learn evidence-based communication approaches; and get practical tools to help professionals navigate conversations about measles vaccination, respond to concerns and support informed decision-making. The National Academy of Medicine, the American Public Health Association (APHA) and the Common Health Coalition are cohosting this event.

To request continuing education credit from APHA, you must watch the event live and complete a questionnaire within 30 minutes of the event’s conclusion. A link to the questionnaire will be posted on the webinar page directly beneath the livestream video player. Click here to register.

NYSNA Joins National Nurses United Federal Lobby Day

On April 13 in Washington, D.C., NYSNA nurses joined nurses from 22 different states to share with elected leaders the reality of bedside experiences. We spoke out against untested artificial intelligence in our hospitals that harms our practice and patient care. With skyrocketing costs, our patients are delaying critical healthcare, and many are avoiding hospitals altogether because they fear ICE. National Nurses United (NNU) nurses held a rally to call out ICE, and they demanded that politicians step up and fund care, not fear! For photos and videos, visit NNU’s Facebook page.

Sign Up for New NNU Courses Free for NYSNA Members

National Nurses United (NNU) is offering FREE virtual courses for NYSNA members. New Spring 2026 courses have been added. View the full calendar and register here, or click on the links below to learn more and register for the courses you’re interested in. When registering for NNU courses, be sure to check the first box, “Yes, I am a CNA/NNOC/NNU member.”

Spring offerings:

• “Our Patients Are Safe When We Are Safe: Workplace Violence and Back Injury Prevention in Health Care Facilities”

• “Our Patients are Safe When We Are Safe and Environments of Harm”

• “Nursing Practice in Our Current Moment & Some Cuts Don’t Heal”

• “Immigrant Justice, Global Migration, and Public Health & Increasing Danger of Workplace Violence in Health Care”

• “Hospital Staffing and Bearing Witness, Building Power”

• “Housing and Health-and-Health Care and Big Tech”

• “Some Cuts Don’t Heal: Protecting the Right to Care”

• “Immigrant Justice, Global Migration, and Public Health”

Applications for 2026 Secor Scholarships Now Open

The Secor Scholarship Fund, established in 2007, was made possible by a generous bequest by long-time NYSNA member Jane Secor, PhD, RN. Dr. Secor stipulated that the endowment be used for furthering nursing education. Two Secor Scholarships are awarded annually, and applications are now open. One $5,000 scholarship is given to a NYSNA member pursuing a baccalaureate (or higher) degree in nursing. Another $5,000 is awarded to a family member seeking a first degree in nursing. The degree can be at any level, but it must be the first degree in nursing sought by the applicant. Click on this flyer for more information, and visit our website to apply.

Reporting Child Abuse Course Addendum Is Live on E-LeaRN

NYSNA’s Nursing Education and Practice (NEP) is happy to announce that NYSNA’S NYS Child Abuse: Identification and Reporting, 8th Edition — Addendum online course is now live on our E-LeaRN platform.

Anyone who completed the NYSNA course, NYS Child Abuse: Identification and Reporting, 8th Edition, through the NYSNA E-LeaRN platform between Oct. 1, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2025, is eligible to complete the addendum course with us. The addendum course is free for NYSNA members. If you are eligible, you may access the addendum course by logging onto E-LeaRN by clicking “Browse Catalog” and searching for “addendum.”

Every person who is required to take the mandated training related to child abuse must take either the full three-hour course or the one-hour addendum portion of the training by Nov. 17, 2026.

Check out the NYSNA website for the latest updates to this requirement. If you have any questions about your E-LeaRN account, please contact NEP at [email protected].

Call for Submissions! The Journal of the New York State Nurses Association

The Journal of the New York Nurses Association is calling for submissions. Authors are invited to submit scholarly papers, research studies, brief reports on clinical or educational innovations, and articles of opinion on subjects important to registered nurses. Of particular interest are papers addressing direct care issues. New authors and student authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts for publication. Read the latest flyer outlining submission categories here. Read the guidelines for submission here.

The latest volume of The Journal of the New York State Nurses Association is out now! You can read it here.

2026 Nurse Education and Practice Workshops

Sign up for Nurse Education and Practice Workshops in 2026! NYSNA members can take advantage of FREE E-LeaRN courses, including state-mandated offerings, standard of practice and certification review courses, as well as nursing practice workshops. Take a look at the 2026 complete course offering, and register for the courses directly here. You must create an account and be signed in to search the full catalog of classes and register for them at no cost!

Calling All Nurse Practitioners

The NYSNA Nursing Education and Practice Department has added required and important educational offerings specifically for nurse practitioners (NPs). The courses include new, updated and mandated courses. Learn more and register for these classes for NYSNA NPs.

Nurses’ Rights to Be Whistleblowers and Protest Your Assignments

NYSNA members should be empowered with the knowledge of laws that have been passed with NYSNA’s input to protect them and empower them to speak up when patient safety is compromised, either due to unsafe staffing or other factors, such as a lack of personal protective equipment, as was the case throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Take a moment to learn about your rights in this flyer.

NYSNA Life Insurance — It’s Time to Designate Your Beneficiary!

NYSNA already provides members with a great benefit at no cost: Basic MetLife Life Insurance! This coverage provides $20,000 of Basic Life Insurance and $20,000 of Basic Personal Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance. All active members in good standing represented for collective bargaining through the union will automatically be enrolled in the plan. This union benefit is in addition to any other insurance provided by your benefits fund, your contract or through your employer.

But for your loved ones to receive this benefit, you must designate them as a beneficiary! To enroll and receive instructions on designating a beneficiary for your new Basic Personal AD&D Insurance, go to nysnawinstonbenefits.com or call 1-866-483-1124.

Sign up with your NYSNA Member ID to set up and access your account and benefits. If you need your Member ID, please contact the NYSNA Membership department at [email protected]. Download the flyer for additional details.

NYSNA Will-Writing Benefits From MetLife

The NYSNA Benefits Fund gives NYSNA members who are covered by the NYSNA Benefits Fund access to personal will preparation services that MetLife Legal Plans offer — at no additional cost.

Having a will prevents unnecessary stress and ensures final wishes are clear. The Benefits Fund offers valuable legal resources through MetLife Legal Plans to assist with creating or updating a will with a member’s Basic Life coverage. As part of this benefit, members get legal guidance and unlimited consultations with network attorneys. Learn more here.

NYSNA Members Are Eligible for AFL-CIO’s Union Plus Benefits!

The benefits of being a NYSNA member extend beyond your NYSNA benefits. As an affiliate of the AFL-CIO, NYSNA members are also eligible for Union Plus benefits to help current and retired labor union members and their families save money and support them through major milestones, celebrations and hardships. These benefits include discounts on wireless plans, credit card deals, mortgage deals, insurance plans and more! Find out more on the AFL-CIO Union Plus website.

The Talkspace Go App Is Mental Health on the Go!

The Talkspace Go app is a great resource that provides daily mental health support on the go! Talkspace Go is a clinician-created, self-guided app so you can address mental health challenges and build mental fitness on your own schedule. It empowers couples, individuals and parents to take progress into their own hands in as little as five minutes a day. Access 400-plus self-guided classes and live weekly therapist-led, anonymous classes. Enjoy assessments, meditation exercises, journaling, reminders and more.

Talkspace Go app is available at no cost to members and their eligible household members! Click here for the instructions and passcode to access the app.

Free Benefits for NYSNA Members: Union Assistance Program and SPAN

The Union Assistance Program (UAP) is a confidential self-help program, independent from NYSNA, that is available to NYSNA members and their families as a membership benefit. When an employee or family member (18 or older) faces a significant personal problem, they can call UAP’s experienced counselors at 800-252-4555 for assistance at any time. Read more information on phone counseling services here.

Statewide Peer Assistance for Nurses (SPAN) is a confidential education, support and advocacy program for all nurses licensed in New York state who are dealing with substance use issues. Visit the SPAN website for more information or to sign up for one of its upcoming classes. Check out SPAN’s Compassion Project.

In solidarity,
Pat Kane, RN
Executive Director, NYSNA