(ROCHESTER, NEW YORK) - New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) is welcoming Nazareth United Professionals following a successful Union Election that added more than 140 dedicated Professionals at Nazareth University in Rochester to the NYSUT Family.

The effort began more than six months ago as Workers faced increasingly high turnover, the erosion of benefits and mounting workloads when vacant positions went unfilled, the Union said.

Inspired by a Staff Member who had a positive experience with another NYSUT Local, Workers at Nazareth began to seek the same stability, transparency and respect on their own campus.

Devon Ash, the Assistant Director of Enrollment Communications at Nazareth and a Member of the Organizing Committee, said: “In my five years at Naz, I have seen far too many talented Colleagues leave in favor of better pay and benefits, thus taking institutional knowledge with them. Having a Union will mean that Staff finally has a voice at this institution that we love.”

Members of the Organizing Committee said support from the broader Labor Community, Faculty, students and other NYSUT Locals were crucial to carrying the campaign forward.

Matt Maley, a Mental Health Counselor at Nazareth and Member of the Organizing Committee, said: “The fight to organize taught me a lot about how much the people who work at Nazareth care about making this a great place to work. For many of the Staff, Unionizing will mean creating a more secure career and a stable foundation for their family life. Moving forward, I'm hoping to see continued improvements in Staff retention and compensation to make Nazareth the place that its employees and I have dreamed that it could be.”

Nazareth’s formation follows another of NYSUT’s recent and successful Organizing Campaigns at the nearby Mary Cariola Center, an 853 School in Rochester.