NY Nurse: June/July 2018

We spoke out. At town and city councils. Before local and state elected officials. We gathered in our hospitals and told our managers, with POAs and petitions. We rallied in our communities and traveled to Albany on Lobby Days. We leafletted with reference to scientific studies with data in our support. We worked with many devoted allies. And we chanted. (See p. 11)

Safe Staffing Saves Lives!

NYSNA nurses confronted with the U.S. Supreme Court decision (a bare majority 5-4) in the Janus case are standing tall and speaking out: the union makes us strong!

NYSNA members, in concert with other public sector union members directly impacted by the court decision, are firm in the beliefs that the unity and power of the union is what protects their jobs, wages and benefits, and combines to deliver quality care to patients and defend a decent quality of life in communities around the state. 

On June 27, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a 5-to-4 decision in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31 that profoundly affects the future of workers’ rights, democratic decision-making in the workplace, and the preservation of good jobs in public employment. Overturning 41 years of precedent, the Court elevated the objections of a minority over the democratically determined choices of the majority of workers, stopping state and local government workers from negotiating collective bargaining agreements with fair share fee arrangements.

No one can argue against how precious our children are to us: as parents, as families and as a society. All animal species develop elaborate plans to protect their young. It is a biological necessity. Among humans, it is a moral imperative.

So when people turn a blind eye to child abuse, it becomes a cause for great concern. If we don’t protect the most vulnerable and innocent among us, what does that say about us as a people?