NYSNA Nurses Hold Emergency Rally and Press Conference at New York City Health+Hospitals/Kings County After Nurse Leader Is Suspended For Safe Staffing Advocacy

NYSNA nurses held an emergency rally and press conference Thursday in response to New York City Health+Hospitals (H+H)/Kings County Hospital’s decision to suspend a local nurse leader. A nurse practitioner and vice president of the local bargaining unit at the hospital was suspended without pay from H+H/Kings County on Friday, Oct. 9 for advocating for patient safety and discussing documented and long-standing staffing concerns raised by bedside nurses.  

NYC Health+Hospitals suspended the NYSNA member without pay and limited her access to H+H facilities, despite not filing specific charges against her. Kings County nurses, hospital staff, and labor and community allies responded to the news of the nurse’s suspension by circulating a petition calling for her immediate reinstatement and compensation for lost wages; nearly 1,000 people have signed the petition since its launch.  

During the rally and press conference, NYSNA members from Kings County demanded that hospital administrators reinstate the suspended nurse leader and stop retaliating against nurses for protected union activity. NYC CLC President Brendan Griffith joined nurses and fellow labor and community allies in speaking out against the suspension. NYSNA will also file an improper practice charge against the health system.  

Nurses spoke about how they had increased their safe staffing advocacy in recent weeks, learning more about using their contract and New York State law to enforce safe staffing standards. The City Reporter recently featured nurses’ concerns about chronic emergency department overcrowding and understaffing. Read more from NYSNA here!