Vote clears path for NYSNA to join National Nurses United

The New York State Nurses Association will affiliate with National Nurses United, expanding the ranks of the country’s largest union and professional association of registered nurses to about 225,000 nationwide.

Ninety-four percent of NYSNA delegates voted in favor of the affiliation Thursday at the union’s annual convention, spokeswoman Kristi Barnes said. The meeting unites elected leaders from every NYSNA-represented facility in the state for educational sessions and to decide the strategic direction of the union.

The affiliation brings NYSNA into the national labor movement for the first time, Barnes said. The union boasts nearly 42,000 members across New York state. National Nurses United has more than 180,000 members nationwide and is an AFL-CIO affiliate.

Download Modern Healthcare’s app to stay informed when industry news breaks.

“There is strength in numbers and a NYSNA affiliation with NNU will strengthen our fight to protect nurses, our patients and our communities,” NYSNA President Nancy Hagans said in a statement. “We are thrilled that this affiliation connects us more closely to the national and international labor movement, which is essential to improving the lives of working people.”

NYSNA previously belonged to the American Nurses Association, a professional organization rather than a labor union, but voted in 2012 to disaffiliate so it could become a formal union with the ability to collectively bargain with employers on behalf of its members.

This story first appeared in our sister publication, Crain's New York Business.