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Long Island Nurses Unite and Demand a Fair Contract!

On Friday, Dec. 12, nurses from across Long Island gathered at Northwell headquarters to demand a fair contract for nurses and patients at Northwell/Plainview, Northwell/Syosset, and Northwell/Huntington. More than 1,000 nurses at the three Northwell hospitals have been bargaining for a new union contract for months. They aim to finalize fair contracts by the end of the year; but instead of negotiating fair contracts that help hire and retain nurses for safe staffing, Northwell management has been showing complete disrespect at the bargaining table. It is seeking major concessions that roll back important gains nurses have fought for and could erode quality care on Long Island. Northwell nurses are uniting to demand that Northwell put patients before profits and invest in Long Island communities, and they will continue to fight until they get what Long Island communities deserve! Nassau County Legislator Arnie Drucker, the Long Island Federation of Labor and Long Island Jobs with Justice joined nurses.

Board Members Denash Forbes, Marie Boyle and Margaret Franks also joined to support their union siblings, adding, “Nurses across Long Island are fired up! We’re showing Northwell that frontline nurses won’t just stand by as they pad their wallets and put profits before safe patient care. We won’t stand by while they continue to wear nurses and other frontline staff thin, forcing us to do more with less. And we won’t stand by while they disrespect nurses and patients at the bargaining table. We’re here because enough is enough, and Long Island communities deserve better.”

North Country Nurses Hold Town Hall to Address Crisis of Care

On Wednesday, Dec. 10, nurses from across the North Country held a town hall to discuss the crisis of care that North Country communities face. They spoke about the increasing consolidation of hospitals and closure of essential services and how hospitals can protect access to healthcare and preserve these services amid impending healthcare cuts. They discussed how negative trends affect frontline staff, patients and North Country communities, particularly in pediatric, maternal and trauma services.

Nurses were joined by community allies, including Assembly Member Michael Cashman, 1199SEIU and Citizen Action, and called for safe staffing, safe workplaces, and a secure future for nurses and the care they provide. Nurses will continue to fight for the resources and staff that patients deserve! WWNY, WAMC and the Press Republican covered the town hall.

Mount Sinai Nurses Hold Vigil and Demand the Hospital Rescind Unfair Disciplines

On Thursday, Dec. 11, Mount Sinai nurses continued their demands for safety and an end to the hospital’s union busting as they gathered outside the hospital for a vigil. This week marks one month since an active shooter came to the hospital, endangering the safety of patients and frontline staff. Nurses responded immediately by protecting patients and calling for increased safety measures — a call that began months before the incident. However, instead of addressing nurses’ concerns, Mount Sinai responded by disciplining three members of the Executive Committee and suspending one of them. In support of nurses’ actions, Assembly Member Edward Gibbs, City Council Members Gale Brewer and Christopher Marte, the New York City Central Labor Council, Housing Works, the New York Hotel & Gaming Trades Council, 1199SEIU and the Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State joined the nurses at their vigil and nurses across NYSNA stickered up in solidarity. PIX11 also covered the event.

Nurses are not intimidated. They are more united than ever and will continue to gather and call attention to the safety issues until the hospital takes proactive measures to address their concerns and rescinds the unfair discipline!

Private Sector Nurses Hold Strike Votes

Across New York City, nurses are fired up! NewYork-Presbyterian, Montefiore, BronxCare, Mount Sinai Hospital, Sinai Morningside and West, and The Brooklyn Hospital Center nurses started their strike vote this week. Maimonides and Wyckoff are scheduled to start next week, and Contract Action Teams are finishing gathering a super majority of strike pledge cards at Flushing, One Brooklyn Health, Interfaith, Kingsbrook, and Richmond University, and will be scheduling their strike votes next week. A yes vote gives NYSNA’s bargaining committees the authority to call for a strike in the event hospital management does not agree to the fair contracts that patients and nurses deserve by the contract deadline on Dec. 31, 2025. Nurses at 12 hospitals have been bargaining for months and have faced disrespect and retaliation for speaking out for safety and demanding better conditions for themselves and their patients. Voting will continue over the following week, and NYSNA will announce the results on Dec. 22.

HealthAlliance Nurses Hold Fourth Bargaining Session

Last week, Westchester Medical Center-HealthAlliance held its fourth bargaining session. The day opened with management rejecting nurses’ workplace safety proposal and refusing to counter it with another proposal. The nurses rallied and delivered a petition that a supermajority signed in support of the bargaining priorities. They are united and committed to doing whatever it takes to win a fair contract!

Save the Date! Public Sector Nurses – Fix Tier 6

Join allies in Albany for a rally to call for legislators to Fix Tier 6. The action takes place on March 8, 2026, in the Albany MVP arena. You can join your fellow NYSNA members and allies to demand fairer pensions for public sector employees who are part of New York’s Tier 6 system. To sign up, click here.

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.

National Nurses United applauds the House’s passage of Protect America’s Workforce Act

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protect America’s Workforce Act (H.R. 2550) to restore the collective bargaining rights for Veterans Affairs nurses and other federal workers. This is a huge step in defending the rights of workers and an important stance against the Trump administration’s anti-worker agenda. National Nurses United applauded the House’s passage and calls on the U.S. Senate to pass this critical legislation. To read more about it, click here.

Sign Up for New NNU Courses Free for NYSNA Members

NNU is offering FREE virtual courses for NYSNA members. New winter 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.”

Winter offerings:

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

NYSNA NEP ACP Educational Needs Survey

We value your input! Your feedback is essential and will help us enhance the NYSNA Nursing Education Program (NEP) and create new continuing education opportunities designed specifically for our Advanced Clinical Providers/Practitioners (ACP) members. Please take a moment to complete our survey. Your participation is entirely voluntary, and we sincerely appreciate your time and insights. All responses are completely confidential and will directly inform the future programs and offerings we develop. If you have any questions, call 212-785-0157, ext. 377, or email [email protected]. Thank you for your participation in this survey and for your dedication to lifelong learning!

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].

NEW: 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 Nurses Association is out now! You can read it here.

Med-Ed Continuing Education Discount

NYSNA has partnered with Med-Ed Continuing Nursing Education to provide NYSNA members with full access to the complete Med-Ed catalogue at a 50% reduced rate. These are all self-study programs that members can access and complete at their leisure. You can access these course offerings by going to NYSNA’s members-only website here, then clicking on the Med-Ed website link, and entering the Promo Code NYSNAMEMBER at checkout, where the discount will apply.

Please do not share this information with any nonmembers.

2026 Nurse Education and Practice Workshops

The 2026 Calendar is now live! 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 2025 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!

Seminar at Sea 2026

Last year, NYSNA nurses sailed to Spain and Portugal while learning about resilience, emotional intelligence and how they connect to nursing. Next year, join NYSNA on an unforgettable weeklong cruise to China, South Korea and Japan set to sail in April 2026! This is an opportunity to visit beautiful countries while obtaining nursing continuing education credits and learning about the relevant and important topic of artificial intelligence in nursing practice and nursing education. Check out the informational flyer to learn about this unique and informative educational program.  

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.

Long COVID Guide

Read NYSNA’s Long COVID Guide to help you stay informed on the diagnosis, treatment options, benefits and rights for workers with long COVID.

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.

Check out the December 2025 newsletter here which features tips for a calmer holiday season.

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 new Compassion Project.

Wellness Wednesdays: As part of its mission to promote a healthy lifestyle, SPAN is also offering a Self-Care Series that includes free Wellness Wednesday courses. Check out the full calendar of Wellness Wednesday offerings here.

In solidarity,
Pat Kane, RN
Executive Director, NYSNA