I missed the announcement until too late, but Albany Med nurses picketed over their contract.
“On Tuesday evening, Aug. 20, nearly three weeks after their contract expired on July 31, New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) nurses at Albany Medical Center [held] an informational picket and candlelight vigil to demand a fair contract from hospital management and bring attention to the safety issues that currently plague the hospital. Nurses [were] joined by community members, patients, and elected leaders…
“Nurses pressed hospital management to continue bargaining with a mediator, and they continued to work under the expired contract. Although hospital management agreed to mediation, they have only agreed to one bargaining date so far, Aug. 26, nearly four weeks after the contract expired. Nurses demand the hospital return to the bargaining table and deliver a contract that will recruit and retain nurses. They maintain that patient safety is at stake.”
Ongoing battle
This is not a new issue, and New York State is a major player in the conversation. “The state Department of Health is investigating conditions at Albany Medical Center after nurses complained for months that management wasn’t meeting new state standards, set in 2022, for nurse-to-patient ratios, according to the New York State Nurses Association.
“NYSNA maintains that contract negotiations must address turnover to ensure patient safety. NYSNA has developed a safe staffing plan that Albany Med administrators agreed to and submitted to the New York State Department of Health. This plan, if accepted by the administrators, would be enforceable in the contract. NYSNA wants a pay offer that addresses the nurse staffing crisis that has left patients vulnerable after more nurses leave the hospital than they can retain. NYSNA also wants to include union rights in the contract, but administrators do not.”
The Union
Getting a nurses’ union at Albany Med was a battle. Back in 2021, Albany Med nurses voted to “accept the first union contract… after three contentious years…
“According to the New York State Nurses Association, nurses voted to approve their first union contract at the hospital with a 97 percent ‘yes’ vote. This comes after three years of tough talks that included very public disputes, including demonstrations, a one-day walkout, and charges of union-busting.”
Working too hard
So, getting unionized was only the first step in what has been an exhausting odyssey. “NYSNA nurse at Albany Medical Center, Jessica DeStefano, RN, recently wrote an opinion editorial in the Times Union explaining how patient care suffers when hospitals overburden nurses with too many patients. Patients have longer wait times and nurses resort to relying on family members to assist in some of their critical tasks in the absence of sufficient staffing support.
“Albany Med has the highest ER visit times in New York state, and nurses say that’s largely because hospital management is not doing what it takes to hire and retain enough qualified nurses at the bedside. NYSNA nurses received data from the hospital during negotiations that show that approximately 50 percent of Albany Med nurses have less than five years of bedside experience at Albany Med. There are currently nearly 600 vacant nursing positions. Albany Med’s nurse vacancy rate is nearly 25%, while a study found that the average national vacancy rate is 10%.”
As is often the case, there would have been no need for unionization had the employer done right by its staff. Check out Albany Med’s 2022 tax filings.
Happy Labor Day!
I watched MASH religiously every week for 11 seasons, on five different nights. In fact, for the first eight years, I’d often watch the reruns. But the last three were generally weaker, sometimes regurgitating plot devices. Moreover, the 
