NY Nurse: April 2018

In nursing school we’re taught that when we graduate, we earn the title registered “professional” nurse. But what is a professional? 

The April 13 Albany Medical Center (AMC) win is still ringing, resonating in the capital and throughout the state and beyond. Registered nurses voted by a strong majority to join NYSNA and put the power of the union to work for a fair contract, for a real say in working conditions — foremost safe staffing — and for respect. Their patient advocacy for 2,200 members will be enhanced immeasurably, with patients, families and the communities they care for sharing in the win.

The win brought together members, community support and a committed NYSNA organizing team.

It came as little surprise to us, but yet with great concern, that grades for acute hospitals in New York were very poor. At the end of April, the annual Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades were released — a detailed survey of 2,500 hospitals across the United States. New York hospitals received the worst overall scores ever. Our state is one of ten in the nation with hospitals that received “F” grades.

One of the keys to success in the Albany Medical Center (AMC) campaign was the innovative use of digital media that enabled nurses to effectively expand the audience getting their message.

First, it was necessary to create an inoculation video to prepare nurses for the anti-union campaign that management was preparing to run. There were many veteran nurses who had been involved in previously unsuccessful efforts to organize and their insights were keen.

AMC nurse leaders spoke

For several decades, some of America’s elite corporate owners and executives, in common cause with policy institutes established to further their agenda, have been campaigning with all their might — and cash — to bring down unions. They want complete control of the workplaces they own in order to bolster the bottom line: more profits. Some are billionaires, other multimillionaires, and they want more.