NYSNA slams Tier VI because it hurts working women

LATHAM, Mar. 15, 2012 - Governor Cuomo’s bill hurts future generations of public sector working women in New York. The governor and legislators who voted for this bill must face the fact that it will have a disproportional negative impact on working women.

It will now be harder to recruit and retain quality employees in many women-dominated professions, like nursing and teaching, while more male-dominated fields get a pass.

While this may be more politically expedient for the governor, it does a great disservice to millions of New York's working women and their families.

The terms of this bill mean that employees will contribute more of their salaries, receive less in their pensions and be forced to retire later in life.

These diminished pensions mean that these retired nurses will have a lower quality of life because they chose to work for the public good.

Women statistically live longer than men and pension cuts to female-dominated professions hurt working women and their families. With many older women now in single person households, this new plan makes permanent another disadvantage for working American women.

Our 13,000 members in the public sector - working in under-funded and frequently understaffed facilities - have physically, mentally and emotionally demanding jobs. Our patients are often very sick because they can't afford to go to the doctor.

Whether we work in the NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation, Westchester Medical Center, Erie County Medical Center or a municipal hospital like Massena General in the North Country, we are the backbone of our state's health care system.

The governor’s bill is another attack on the quality of public services in this state - and on the dedicated career professionals who perform those services with pride and determination every day.

The governor’s plan to undercut services to New Yorkers and dismantle public services will hurt thousands of nurses and millions of New Yorkers who rely on them for care.

Shame on the governor and legislators who voted for this terrible proposal.

The New York State Nurses Association is the voice for nursing in the Empire State. With more than 37,000 members, it is New York’s largest professional association and union for registered nurses. The association represents registered nurses, and some all-professional bargaining units, in New York and New Jersey. It supports nurses and nursing practice through education, research, legislative advocacy, and collective bargaining.

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