Check out answers to commonly asked questions about unions:
A union is a membership organization that represents employees in the workplace. A union is a business, but instead of making money by working hard to take care of their patients, they get their money by taking dues out of your paycheck. And while a union can promise anything— including better pay, benefits and job security — there are NO GUARANTEES. As a result of negotiations, you and your family could end up with more, the same or less than what you currently have here at LIJ.
NYSNA is the New York State Nurses Association. NYSNA’s office is located in New York, NY. The union is affiliated with National Nurses United.
NYSNA takes an activist, sometimes adversarial, approach to union representation. NYSNA’s tactics include:
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent U.S. federal agency that enforces the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), protecting employees' rights to organize, collectively bargain and participate in other mutual aid or protection activities without interference from employers or unions. The NLRB investigates unfair labor practices, conducts union elections and resolves labor disputes to promote a peaceful resolution of issues in private sector workplaces that affect interstate commerce.
With a union, things like pay, work schedules, benefits and other terms and conditions of employment must be negotiated through a process called collective bargaining between a union and an employer. Collective bargaining is a complex, time consuming process that, on average, takes over a year to complete.
By law, they are allowed to contact you, and likely will. We respect your right to privacy, but because NYSNA filed a petition with the federal government, we are now required by law to provide them with a list of all eligible voters and your personal contact information including your cell phone, home phone, home address and personal email address. Under any other circumstances we would NOT share your personal information with an outside group.
NYSNA organizers and other non-employee representatives of any outside organization are prohibited from soliciting or distributing literature on LIJ property. Therefore, union representatives are not allowed to hand out flyers to patients, visitors or team members in the parking lot. Union representatives are permitted in any area on our campus that is otherwise open to the public. However, NYSNA representatives are not permitted in patient care areas or other work areas where access is restricted to LIJ team members.
Nurses should be aware that NYSNA frequently seeks publicity or support for its campaigns, and may reach out to patients and visitors, politicians and members of the community. If a patient or visitor asks about the union campaign and you are uncomfortable having that conversation, you should refer them to a nurse leader.
There is no evidence that a nursing union brings any measurable positive impact on patient care. There is some debate over the impact of union contracts that limit individual nurse autonomy, undermine initiative and favor rigid scheduling and staffing over flexible, responsive patient care models. Nurses may want to consider the potential negative impact of joining a union with a long history of holding strikes and waging public protests and negative campaigns against hospitals, and how that could undermine clinical collaboration and our reputation in the community.
If you are represented by a union, you’d be expected to comply with two sets of rules:
The NYSNA Constitution provides that “All members of National Nurses United obligate themselves, by virtue of such membership, to comply with the Constitution and published National Nurses United policies.” NYSNA Constitution Article 2 Section A.5.
Additionally, you would be required to pay dues.
Yes, but that process will take at least a year and likely much longer. After one year, if there is no contract in place, members of the bargaining unit can petition the NLRB to conduct an election to potentially remove, or decertify, the union. But if LIJ and the union reach a contract agreement during the first year, or thereafter, you are committed to staying with the union for the duration of that initial contract. Most first contracts last 2-4 years. Additionally, LIJ is prohibited by law to provide any assistance to employees in removing the union.
If you are disciplined or fired for some reason you think is unfair, you can ask the union to file a complaint, or grievance, on your behalf. That does not guarantee you will get your job back or that the discipline will be reversed. It only guarantees a process — called a grievance procedure — and possibly arbitration that would decide whether you can be returned to work or have the discipline removed from your record.
Collective bargaining is a negotiation between a union and an employer to decide things like pay, work schedules, benefits and other terms and conditions of employment. There are no guaranteed outcomes or results in collective bargaining. The union may make promises or comparisons to other hospitals to get your vote, but there are NO GUARANTEES when it comes to what matters most to you and your family, such as:
As a result of negotiations, you could end up with more, the same or less than what you currently have here at LIJ. LIJ is not required to agree to any specific proposals from the union, and that means the union can’t make any guarantees. Collective bargaining is a complex process that is time intensive. On average, it takes more than a year to get to a first contract.
While a union can promise anything – including better pay, benefits and job security – there are NO GUARANTEES. As a result of negotiations, you and your family could end up with more, the same or less than what you currently have.
In fact – on average, LIJ RNs already make a higher base pay than nurses represented by NYSNA.
Additionally, your overall benefit package is more generous than the benefits administered by NYSNA in many ways.
Over $5,000 in dues!
That's how much you could be forced to pay the union over the life of a typical 3-year contract based on NYSNA’s most recent financial report. Every dollar comes out of your net paycheck (after taxes). That's more than $1,700 annually that could go for important things that matter to you and your family like:
And if more than $1,700 a year isn’t enough, the union can increase your dues anytime it wants.
NO. Dues are not the only expenses. The union's constitution (Article 3, Section 1) allows them to charge you fines, fees and other assessments if you violate the constitution. Some unions have fined members for crossing a picket line to work even if that's what they decided is best for them and their family.
There are no guarantees when it comes to union representation. Meanwhile, the union can use your money to support issues that have nothing to do with representing you in the workplace.
Many union elections are determined by a handful of votes. If you don’t vote, you’re giving others the power to make decisions about YOUR paycheck. YOUR life. YOUR workplace.
Under federal law, elections are decided by a majority of the votes cast — NOT the majority of team members who work at LIJ. For example, if 1500 RNs work at LIJ, but only 500 vote in the election and 251 vote for the union, then all 1500 RNs at LIJ will be union-represented. So that means other team members — maybe only a few — will make a choice for you and speak for you. That’s why it's so important that everyone votes.
No. Your vote is private. The union and LIJ will never know who you voted for unless you choose to tell them. This means that you can still vote NO, even if you told someone you were in favor of the union.
Yes, you can and should! Signing an authorization card does not impact your election vote in any way. You are still legally and morally free to vote NO.
If the union wins the election, every eligible RN will be represented by the union, even if you didn’t vote, even if you voted against it and even if you don’t like the way the union operates.
The outcome of the election impacts everyone, so it is very important that everyone votes.
Unions have the right to strike during negotiations. During a strike, striking workers receive no pay from their employer. And some unions can even fine you for not participating in the strike or crossing a picket line to go to work.
