News for Federation of Nurses

We have been notified by the Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VSNY) that there has been a delay in the processing of the car hire this pay period. As a result, employees eligible for monthly car hire allowance will receive their reimbursement in the check dated May 11 instead of the check dated April 27.

Advocacy on behalf of patients — in the face of relentless pressure for profits by hospital administrations — was a major theme that threaded throughout the 32nd annual Professional Issues Conference of the Federation of Nurses/UFT held on Nov. 18 and 19.

Say the word “teacher” and the image that comes to most people’s mind is a person standing at the head of the class. The UFT knows differently. Teaching has a broader meaning, encompassing different kinds of educators, including those who work with children every day, but not necessarily at the head of the class or in the classroom at all.

Rushing to volunteer at makeshift triage stations near Ground Zero and on both sides of the Brooklyn Bridge after the towers collapsed, UFT nurses had to deal with filthy air and ash-strewn streets, dodging fires that would last for weeks to treat office workers, police, firefighters and rescue workers for burns, cuts from strewn glass and metal, and smoke inhalation.

Federation of Nurses/UFT organizers scored an impressive victory on May 25 when registered nurses at GuildNet, a managed long-term home care operation run by the Jewish Guild for the Blind, voted solidly to join the UFT nurses group.

The UFT commends the nurses for their outstanding personal sacrifice and tireless work in the humanitarian effort fostering goodwill between the nations of Colombia and the United States as well as between the cities of Villavicencio and New York.

A looming strike by the UFT Federation of Nurses chapter at Staten Island University Hospital’s south site was averted after management agreed on March 31 to what members there widely tout as an excellent contract. Members voted virtually unanimously for the new three-year agreement, which contained no givebacks and a substantial wage increase.

Celebrating the end of an eventful year, the Federation of Nurses/UFT held a get-together with dinner, speeches and a chance to catch up at its June 23 meeting. UFT President Michael Mulgrew congratulated the nurses on their “two contracts down and one to go,” and thanked them for their dedication to their patients, saying, “You make us look good with all the work you do.” 

With a resounding 99 percent of the membership voting to ratify in their largest vote turnout ever, Federation of Nurses/UFT members employed at the Visiting Nurse Service approved a new, two-year contract that came with wage raises, no givebacks and full employer pension-and-benefits funding.