Northwell's Huntington Hospital nurses vote to change union representation to NYSNA

Nurses at Northwell Health’s Huntington Hospital have voted to join the New York State Nurses Association after previously being represented by a different in-house union, organizers said.

The hospital’s 677 nurses will be represented by NYSNA, which bills itself as the largest union of nurses in the state, representing 42,000 members across New York. The Huntington nurses join more than 3,600 members at six Northwell facilities already represented by the union.

"We are thrilled with the election results," said Patricia Dowling, a lead organizer behind the campaign and a registered nurse who has worked at Huntington Hospital for 21 years.   She said the previous nurses union "wasn’t able to contend with such a corporation" as Northwell. 

"It’s like David and Goliath," said Liliana Perez, another organizer and 19-year veteran nurse at the hospital. "We knew we needed the backing of a big union."

Wednesday's election, overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, was to determine whether nurses would choose NYSNA or remain with the Huntington Hospital Nurses’ Association. The American Federation of Teachers-affiliated union has seven days to challenge the results with the NLRB.

Officials with the Huntington association did not respond to requests for comment.

A "supermajority" of the hospital’s nursing staff signed a petition earlier this year seeking the statewide union’s representation, the NYSNA said in a news release announcing the election results. Nurses then signed a petition to the National Labor Relations Board in June asking for a vote on whether to join NYSNA or remain with its previous union.

"Huntington Hospital thanks our registered nurses (RNs) who participated in the representation election. The ballots were counted, and as a result of the election, our RNs voted to be represented by the New York State Nurses Association," Northwell said in a statement on Thursday.

Nurses there ratified a new 3 ½-year contract with the hospital on Oct. 25. That contract, negotiated by the Huntington Hospital Nurses’ Association, received a 90% yes vote from members, Northwell officials said.