NY Nurse: Summer 2024

For months, NYSNA nurses at Albany Medical Center have been sounding the alarm about unsafe staffing levels at their hospital — and pointing to understaffing as the primary cause for a concerning decline in patient care at the facility. At the same time, they’ve been at the bargaining table, fighting for a contract that prioritizes patients over profits. But as the Albany Med administration continues to stonewall the negotiating committee and drag its feet on finalizing a contract, where does that leave the patients who rely on Albany Med for healthcare services?

Since NYSNA members transformed our union in 2012 to be a fighting, member-led union of frontline nurses and healthcare professionals, we have been doing the work to make that goal a reality. We have developed trainings and structures to inform, empower, and prepare members to lead our union. We have built our nurse power from the ground up, and we have used it to take on — and win — major battles for safe staffing and respect.

Anyone who’s turned on the news or received an email about the upcoming election has heard that there is a lot at stake in the 2024 elections. I learned that firsthand when I traveled to Chicago in August with a delegation of National Nurses United (NNU) nurses to attend the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

Our delegation met with federal, state and city elected officials from all over the country who champion the fight for healthcare justice. Nurses attended powerful workshops related to labor and healthcare.

Delegates Are the Voice of the People