Unions and Community Groups Tell Albany Med To “Stop Playing With Patient Care”
For immediate release: Friday, Dec. 20, 2024
Contact: Andrea Penman-Lomeli | press@nysna.org | 347-559-3169
Kristi Barnes | press@nysna.org | 646-853-4489
UNIONS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS TELL ALBANY MED TO “STOP PLAYING WITH PATIENT CARE”
Dozens of unions and allied organizations from across the capital region pen solidarity letter calling on Albany Medical Center to listen to frontline nurses sounding the alarm on unsafe staffing.
Albany, N.Y. - In a letter of solidarity with nurses from the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), labor unions and allied community organizations from the capital region and across New York state call on Albany Medical Center to address the crisis of understaffing that puts safe patient care at risk. The New York State AFL-CIO, the Capital District Area Labor Federation, the Labor Religion Coalition, and 1199SEIU are among over 30 groups calling on the hospital to agree to a strong contract with frontline nurses with enforceable staffing ratios, which nurses have long maintained is essential for addressing the staffing crisis at Albany Med.
Mario Cilento, President of the New York State AFL-CIO, said, “The labor movement commends and appreciates the dedicated nurses working day in and day out at Albany Medical Center caring for their patients while facing the challenge of short staffing that has reached a crisis level. Albany Medical Center has the power to change that by settling a fair union contract with its nurses that will enforce safe staffing standards, include fair wages and benefits, and give them a voice in the workplace ensuring quality patient care. It is time for the hospital to treat these nurses fairly, with the dignity and respect they deserve. NYSNA has the full support and resources of the New York State AFL-CIO at its disposal for as long as it takes to reach a fair and equitable agreement.”
Mark Emanatian, Director of the Capital District Area Labor Federation, said, “I have lived in this area my entire life. Unions are the backbone of the working class in the Capital District and New York State. Nurses' right to organize and fight for their contract is part of the core values we at the Capital District Area Labor Federation are fighting for in our communities. We stand with the nurses at Albany Medical Center in their fight for a fair contract and safe staffing for our communities.”
The solidarity letter comes on the heels of letters sent by capital region elected leaders in support of NYSNA nurses at Albany Med. Assembly Member Angelo Santabarbara called on hospital administrators to "work with the frontline nurses and healthcare professionals to better address the deficiencies found by the DOH [Department of Health]” and provide “fair competitive wages and benefits to recruit, retain, and reward our dedicated healthcare heroes.”
Other elected officials have stood in solidarity with the nurses fighting for a fair contract over the last several months, joining nurses at City Council hearings, on informational picket lines and speaking out in the press.
Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara said: "Nurses are the backbone of our healthcare system, and their voices cannot be ignored. Albany Med’s staffing crisis is real and jeopardizes patient care. This fight is about more than wages—it's about ensuring safe staffing, retaining experienced nurses, and protecting patient safety. Promised pay increases are inadequate, fail to address the root issues, and exclude many nurses. I stand with NYSNA nurses in demanding fair wages, enforceable staffing standards, and a strong union voice. Albany Med must start negotiating in good faith. Our nurses and patients deserve nothing less."
Assembly Member Phil Steck said: “The public has a real sense that our health care system is breaking down as evidenced by long wait times for emergency room services, very prevalent at Albany Medical Center, and even private office visits. Too many resources are going to the top and too few to those who provide care and to patients. NYSNA nurses at Albany Med are on the front line fighting not only for their own dignity as nurses but also to assure that sufficient resources are devoted to patient care rather than public relations. That is why I totally support the NYSNA nurses at Albany Med in the struggle for a fair contract. If the nurses achieve that, it benefits the public.”
Albany Common Council President Corey Ellis said: "As a labor leader myself, I know the struggle organized labor goes through when workers fight for a good contract. For my beloved nurses, the struggle rises to higher levels. Their fight for patient care and safe staffing is a fight for everyone in the community. As Albany Common Council President, I stand with NYSNA nurses in their fight for a fair contract at Albany Medical Center.
Albany Common Council Member Gabriella Romero said: “I stand with the nurses at Albany Med and their fight for a fair contract. We cannot allow profit to stand in the way of safe staffing, quality care, and a living wage. Albany Med nurses provide care for all of us in the Capital Region and we must return the favor by ensuring that they are cared for by our community in the form of a fair contract”
Over the past few weeks, the hospital has escalated its efforts to silence vocal patient advocates by retaliating against a NICU nurse after she expressed concerns that staffing schedules may not ensure enough nurses at the bedside to safely care for the fragile infants in the hospital’s NICU.
CEO Dennis McKenna proclaimed he offered NYSNA nurses his so-called ‘best and final offer’ and threatened to withhold retro pay if nurses did not agree to the contract. Nurses refused to be bullied into consenting to what they saw as an agreement that did far too little to address the staffing crisis at Albany Med. They continue to fight for a contract with enforceable safe staffing plans, wages and benefits that keep nurses at the hospital, and respect for nurses’ voices. Nurses continue to prioritize a full contract offer that helps recruit and retain enough nurses for safe, quality patient care. Nurses should not have to take on second jobs or make decisions between insurance payments and other necessities while working at the most important hospital in the capital region. The union has now filed nearly 10 unfair labor practice (ULP) charges with the National Labor Relations Board in response to the hospital’s actions.
NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, said, “NYSNA nurses are fighting for a fair contract with enforceable safe staffing, wages that retain nurses, and respect for nurses, who are patient care experts. We know a boss’ promises are temporary, but a union contract is in writing and enforceable. NYSNA nurses are tired of the bullying, divisiveness, lies and stall tactics from this hospital administration. This fight is about the health and safety of our nurses, families and neighbors and we demand Albany Med administrators negotiate a fair contract.”
While Albany Med continues to ignore its staffing crisis and tries to drown out nurses’ voices with antiunion rhetoric, elected officials, labor unions and allied organizations see through the hospital’s deceit and point to the crisis that not only affects the Albany community, but has dramatic implications for the entire state as patients travel far distances to receive care at the hospital, the only Level 1 trauma center between Westchester, Canada, and Rochester.
Union leaders and allied organizations demand that the hospital ensure that “healthcare workers who put their lives on the line caring for others can access healthcare and other benefits when they need them the most.”
Citizen Action Of New York said: “Our members and our communities depend on Albany Med for care. That’s why we are concerned that hospital management is silencing frontline nurses who speak out about the crisis of understaffing. Without enough nurses at the bedside our loved ones can’t get the safe quality care they need and deserve. We demand Albany Med take patient care seriously and listen to their nurses.
Reverend Peter Cook, New York State Council of Churches, said, “The repeated silencing of union nurses is dangerous for organized labor, and detrimental to patient care. Albany Med’s antiunion behavior is harmful to patient care. Despite Albany Med’s attempts to demonize the union nurses who advocate for their patients, the fearless nurses at Albany Med are undeterred and continue to fight for a fair contract and the well-being of their patients. We call on the hospital administration to respect nurses’ voices and agree to strong and enforceable safe staffing standards that ensure quality care in our communities and stop playing with patient care.”
Reverend E. West McNeill, Labor Religion Coalition, said, “NYSNA nurses have been on the frontlines of patient care and they are leaders in our community. They have shown us what action looks like, fighting for their patients’ health and their rights as workers. As a community organization, we support their fight for a fair contract and will continue to support them until they get what they deserve.”
Christopher Jackson, President of the National Association of Letter Carrier Branch 358, said, “As a labor union that represents thousands of members in the capital area, we know the importance of the work that nurses at Albany Medical Center do and are firsthand witnesses to the staffing crisis that puts patient care at risk. NYSNA nurses deserve better. Our community deserves better. While AMC continues to mislead the public, the actions nurses have taken to better patient care is an inspiration for labor across the capital region.”
Albany Med CEO Dennis McKenna has not only hidden a New York State Department of Health deficiency report outlining the crisis of understaffing from nurses and from the community, he also misled the public, falsely claiming that the frontline nurses on the staffing committee had full access to the report which they have still not seen, and called the process collaborative. He admitted to a shocking and unprecedented 480 staffing violations in the report, which would be the largest publicly known number of violations ever found by the DOH since the safe staffing law went into effect. Nurses filed complaints showing that the hospital continued to unsafely staff the hospital despite the investigation.
Nurses at Albany Medical Center have been in negotiations since April and have seen little movement from management on key issues. NYSNA nurses are urging Albany Med administrators to settle a fair union contract with a comprehensive plan to recruit, retain, and respect nurses in order to solve the nurse staffing crisis at the hospital and ensure quality care for the community.
Over the last year, NYSNA nurses at Albany Medical Center have held an informational picket and hosted community forums, delivered petitions to hospital leadership, and held speak-outs for safe staffing. Nurses recently launched an ad campaign across the capital region to draw attention to the staffing crisis at Albany Med. Visit albanymedqualitycare.org to find out more.
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The New York State Nurses Association represents more than 42,000 members in New York State. We are New York’s largest union and professional association for registered nurses. NYSNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United, AFL-CIO, the country's largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses, with more than 225,000 members nationwide.