Thank you for your interest in becoming a member of the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes of New York. This page outlines the activities of the League and the negotiations and other services provided by the League to its member institutions. In addition, it comments specifically on the often-asked question of how local issues might be addressed.

As you may know, a large number of the voluntary non-profit hospitals in the New York metropolitan area whose employees are members of 1199 are also members of the League, and a substantial number of the non-profit hospitals and nursing homes under contract with Local 144 joined the League as well. A list of our complete membership can be found on the Member Institutions page.

Our prime activity is that of representing the institutions and acting as bargaining agent for negotiations with 1199 and Local 144, which is now part of 1199.

While there are a few non-profit institutions in the New York metropolitan area whose employees are represented by 1199 (and/or 144) and are not members of the League, it has long been recognized that the League’s settlement patterns become the standard for most other unionized health care institutions in the greater New York area. Because of this, League negotiations have a wide sphere of influence beyond its own membership.

In each League-wide negotiation over the last several contracts, the Union (and sometimes a specific institution) has sought to negotiate other local issues not related to past practices. We have, in the past, provided an opportunity at the time of the main negotiations for the parties “on an individual basis“ to address those issues. In some cases agreement has been reached, and in others many issues remain unresolved. In no case, however, has there been any attempt or suggestion by the Union that the overall settlement be delayed either for the League itself or for any individual member as a result of disputes over local issues. The matter is in a somewhat grey area and the line between a local issue and a grievance, subject to arbitration, has never been resolved. However, the practicalities of the situation are such that we have been able to avoid any significant problems in dealing with those issues.

As an outgrowth of this main activity, we service our members on a day-to-day basis in the broad areas of labor relations and personnel administration. Specifically, we are the clearing house and coordinating agency for matters of contract interpretation, grievances, arbitrations and other matters affecting the Employer/Union relationship. In this role we work closely with the personnel directors, labor counsel and operating officials of the institutions.

An area of significant activity of the League has been in connection with the various joint programs with the unions. For example, the League names Trustees to the 1199 Benefit, Pension, Training and Upgrading, Job Security and Child Care funds to which its members contribute.

By and large, the League has become – over the years – the central focus of all healthcare labor relations activities in the downstate area.

The internal workings of the League in terms of Board of Directors, the Labor Relations/Negotiating Committee and other committees, and the procedures for voting are not addressed here, but we would be glad to discuss these with you should you have any questions. Please note, however, that management representatives of 1199 and the former 144 institutions serve on our Board of Directors.

The procedure to formally joining the League is a letter of intent signed by the Chief Executive Officer, along with an executed copy of the By-laws.

As to finances, the cost of membership is determined by the total number of all (union and non-union) full-time equivalent employees of the institution. There is a one-time admission fee of $5.00 per FTE employee. We can make arrangements, if necessary, for you to pay this amount over two years. Dues for our current October 1st fiscal year are $33 per FTE, both Union and Non-Union with a cap of 8,200 employees.

We look forward to discussing with you what we believe would be a mutually beneficial relationship between your institution and the League.