Healthy gains
Giving voice to nurses and other professionals

From: NYSUT History
Published: Spring 1998

For thousands of nurses and health care professionals, union representation has ensured their voice is heard when decisions are made about patient care, job and benefit security, working conditions and hospital policy.

In 1979 Ann Goldman, a registered nurse at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, worked closely with union organizers to convince her co-workers to vote for the United Federation of Teachers in a representational election. Nurses at the hospital chose the UFT in New York City, and affiliation with New York State United Teachers, by a vote of 237 to 14.

"Before this contract, we could be told to scrub floors instead of caring for patients," said Goldman. "Now we have a strong union that listens to us and a contract that makes it easier for us to do our jobs."

At the time, UFT President Al Shanker said, "Some people will be astonished at the results, but it is a clear sign that nurses are seeking an effective, professional union to represent them. It was no accident. The nurses talked to us, came to our meetings, read our contracts, looked at our record and cast an educated vote."

"The union has made a big difference for teachers," said Goldman. "We need strong collective bargaining for health care professionals, too."

The organizing drive at Lutheran Medical Center was the first of many around the state. NYSUT's national affiliate, the American Federation of Teachers, got the ball rolling in 1978 with a campaign to bring better representation through a NYSUT and AFT umbrella group, the Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals.

NYSUT now represents 5,000 health care professionals.

Different reasons

Ann Marie Calabrese had different reasons for choosing the teachers union. Calabrese was the first president of Albany Visiting Nurses Association after it voted for NYSUT affiliation in 1987. "Visiting nurses were very concerned about the safety and working conditions of home health care workers," she said. Calabrese chose the teachers union for its strong bargaining skills, training and conferences.

Medical staff with a variety of job titles joined FNHP in the late '70s and early '80s. Two health care unions formed in 1979 reflect this diversity. St. John's Episcopal Hospital Federation of Health Professionals in Suffolk County includes inhalation technicians, X-ray technicians, lab technicians and lab technologists. In Orange County, nurses, orderlies and pharmacists are members of Arden Hill Hospital Employees Federation.

Dottie Meinecke, chairwoman of the statewide FNHP Advisory Committee, remembered conditions that made a strong union potentially a matter of life and death. Before the union came to Lutheran Medical Center, Meinecke recalled having only one weekend off every three weeks. "This schedule was unnecessary - we spent too much time on non-professional duties. But - believe it or not - the hospital could save money this way because many nurses were paid less than other workers." Duties such as pushing beds or serving meals took away from nurses' time with patients.

Standing together, standing strong

Early, FNHP tackled issues like salary steps, overtime, and non-professional duties. The union stood behind health professionals when negotiations went nowhere and forced a strike.

Workers at Lutheran Medical Center walked the line for four days in 1988 and gained input in policy-making, higher compensation for overtime, and additional staff in nurse-shortage areas. "Going on strike was not an easy decision," Meinecke recalled. "Our nurses felt strongly that, in the long run, their patients would benefit if the views of professional nurses were considered in running the hospital."

A 1997 strike at St. John's Episcopal Hospital confronted issues that concern health professionals around the state. Part-timers were hired at partial benefits and required to work full-time hours. The hospital had enough money to buy out a competitor, but not to give raises to overworked staff.

The 10-day strike was a last resort. "The hospital was negotiating with threats and intimidation," said Dan Bahr, NYSUT labor relations specialist. "But it didn't work because of the unwavering support of the members. They made it possible for the negotiating team to achieve a contract with gains in a number of areas."

Today, members of FNHP benefit from conferences run by local, state and national unions. For the future, the focus is on professional development, with workshops on topics like public relations, consumer rights in health care, lobbying for health legislation, political action, and health-care organizing.

Health professionals have come a long way since joining NYSUT. "The bottom line is collective bargaining," said John O'Leary, director of NYSUT's Organizing Department. "NYSUT listens to them, fights for them and gets results."