N YS N A A nn ua l R e p o r t New york Nurse | january 2022
2021
We Are One
What impacts one, impacts us all.
iWestchester Medical Centeri
Table of Contents Anticipating the Future We Can Create Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Lincoln Hospital Takeover Offers Important Lessons for Healthcare Workers and the Community . . . . . . 5 In 2021, Nurses Continued to be Canaries in the Coal Mine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Safe Staffing Law a Key Milestone in 2021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 A Message from NYSNA’s Board of Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 A Closer Look at NYSNA: Strategic Research Fueled Our Campaigns in 2021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 A Closer Look at NYSNA: Technology and Membership Department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 A Closer Look at NYSNA: Labor Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 A Closer Look at NYSNA: Nursing Education and Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 A Closer Look at NYSNA: Political and Community Organizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 A Closer Look at NYSNA: Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Ratified Contracts in 2021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Mount Sinai System: Patients Cannot Heal When Nurses are Stretched So Thin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Upstate Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 School Nurses: On the Frontlines but Forgotten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Downstate Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Brooklyn, Staten Island Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 In 2021, SPAN Continued to Balance Nurses’ and Patients’ Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Bargaining Conference Lays Groundwork for 2022 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Last Year, NYSNA Members Continued their Fight to Address the Climate Crisis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 NYC Health and Hospitals Nurses Win Enhanced OT Rates and Program in 2021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 NYSNA Members Celebrate and Strategize at the 2021 TOGETHER WE RISE! Convention . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 In 2022, the Legislature Must Address the Disparity in Pay Between Travel and Staff Nurses . . . . . . . . . 29 Agency Fee Objection Policy/Beck Notification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
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Anticipating the Future We Can Create Together By Nancy Hagans, RN It is no secret that COVID-19 has been an isolating experience. We have worked in silos and been forced to live outside the comfort of community. But what is most remarkable to me is not what we have been through (I have lamented the hard times more than I care to admit) but how we have emerged: more unified, more committed, more determined. Crisis can cause anyone to give up. But it has caused you to double down. As president of NYSNA and a frontline healthcare professional, I want you to
know that I do not take your work or contributions for granted. You have lost colleagues, loved ones, friends and family. You were expected to work as if your world wasn’t crumbling. You have dealt with, and many of you are still dealing with, real challenges, yet somehow you still show up for yourselves and your union siblings.
Every person who rubbed elbows with other attendees noted how wonderful it was to be with their union family.
Together Again Hundreds of you showed up for the 2021 Convention, with many people coming in person and others joining virtually. Every person who rubbed elbows with other attendees noted how wonderful
it was to be together with their union family. Being intentional about remaining in proximity will help us fight and ultimately win what we need to care for ourselves, our families, our patients and our communities. Now more than ever, the union must be a place of hope. We must provide bargaining and organizing support but also access to what is needed to help healthcare professionals feel and be safe. Maintaining our connection with one another will support us in individual workplace fights but also in our collective struggle. And COVID-19 has taught us that we are all connected.
We Will Prevail As we round out 2021, we find ourselves at a crossroads, remembering what has been lost and maintaining hope for what can be won. We can win improved working conditions, fair pay, better healthcare services for ourselves and our patients, and the implementation of the safe staffing law. What I want you to know is that the union is not an entity over there. It is not a group of random people who are disconnected from one another. You are the union. Our success or failure depends on all of us. If each of us commits to raise our voices, to show up for ourselves and one another, and to never give up or give in, we will prevail. I am anticipating the future. I hope you are too. NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, being vaccinated 4
2021: We are one
Lincoln Hospital Takeover Offers Important Lessons for Healthcare Workers and Community By Patricia Kane, RN As we embark on this new year, I hope we will pause and reflect on the legacy of those who came before us. Their work offers encouragement that regardless of what we face, we can overcome any challenge if we work together. We know that the powerful use inequality and oppression to divide us. But when we are divided, we lose power and the opportunity to advance. It is only when we unite, and craft an inclusive vision for ourselves, our families, and our communities, that we can truly rise. As Frederick Douglass has said, “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has and it never will.” That is why we applaud the healthcare workers and community members who came before us. We are thankful for the sacrifices they made. The right to organize and bargain collectively came only after periods of intense struggle. The ability to be in community with people of different races and ethnicities came about through the courageous stance of civil rights activists. Even the Patient Bill of Rights, which is displayed in hospitals and
health systems across the country, can be directly attributed to the advocacy of activists, the Young Lords to be exact.
Where Do We Go From Here? To map a plan for our future, we must understand our past. The work of the Young Lords, healthcare workers and community members who occupied Lincoln Hospital in 1970 sheds light on what is possible when we unite as one. Who Were They? The Young Lords was a group of Puerto Ricans dedicated to advancing civil and human rights. The group was inspired by the Black Panther Party and fiercely dedicated to equity. It was against this backdrop that NYSNA organized a film screening of the film “Takeover” by Emma Francis-Snyder. The documentary details the Young Lords’ occupation of Lincoln Hospital. The activists, healthcare professionals and community members occupied the facility after growing tired of watching patients be mistreated. The facility was rife with roaches, rodents, dying patients, chipping paint and blood splatter on the walls and floors. Surgical instruments
were routinely left inside patients, and no one — not elected officials nor hospital administrators — lifted a finger to help until the occupation. In protest of egregious and deadly conditions at Lincoln Hospital, the Young Lords and others declared that they would not leave the South Bronx hospital until the city made a commitment to build a new hospital. They courageously challenged the hospital to do what was right for workers and the community. We know that while our resistance may look different, what is called for in this moment is a fresh assertion of that which nurses and healthcare professionals, patients, and the community need. As healthcare workers, we understand that treating symptoms rather than underlying conditions is futile. Today, as in decades prior, the root cause of unmet needs is inequality — based on class, socio economic status, race, gender, country of origin, ability, sexual identity, age. Unless and until we take up the fight against inequality — everywhere and anywhere — our victories will be limited to crumbs.
What Now? In the Dec. edition of New York Nurse, I laid out an agenda for our union for 2022. The roadmap includes preparing to bargain scores of expiring contracts, ensuring implementation of the safe staffing law, addressing rising concerns due to COVID-19 and ensuing variants, and getting involved in the 2022 elections. By engaging in these efforts, we will ensure that the immediate and future needs of nurses and the patients we serve are met.
NYSNA Executive Director Pat Kane, RN, at a rally for Mayor-Elect Eric Adams
We know that progress does not come easy. We also know that pain does not have to be perpetual if we remain united. For it is only together that will we truly rise. 2021: We are one
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In 2021, Nurses Continued to be Canaries in the Coal Mine Dawn Cardello, RN, Describes What Nurses Face For years, nurses have spoken out highlighting barriers to quality patient care. They have detailed how poor working conditions and understaffing compromise quality care. During COVID, nurses shed light on the public rhetoric of hospital systems and the private struggle of healthcare workers to get PPE while working. But in 2021, nurses continued to be the canaries in the coal mine letting the world know that our healthcare system continues to be fundamentally broken. What started as an urgent plea has reached a crescendo. In 2021, many nurses escalated their advocacy for themselves and the patients they love and serve. NYSNA nurses organized informational pickets, speak outs and other actions to detail what it is like to work amidst chronic understaffing. Below is an account of the challenges of understaffing by Dawn Cardello, RN, who works at SIUH/Northwell: Most nurses agree that they’ve never seen understaffing worse than it is today. Who would have thought that nurses and healthcare workers would have exited the worst of a deadly pandemic last year only to work under these conditions today? Many hospital administrators refuse to hear our screaming cry for help, as documented in 800-1000 POAs. There is no unit in the hospital that has not been affected. I have been a nurse at SIUH/ Northwell for 34 years, and the situation we find ourselves in is shocking. Many SIUH nurses are caring for 7-10 patients when the ratios should be much lower. Although they do their best, nurses cannot provide safe quality care when spread so thin. I am frightened to see our hospital unraveling. But its not just conditions at my hospital that trouble me. Most hospitals in New York are dealing with short staffing as well. But here is the irony: this hospital is part of the biggest healthcare empire in the state: Northwell Health. Northwell is flush with resources. Amid a deadly pandemic, why are they not investing more in communities, including patients and healthcare workers. Many of us question why hospital executives are withholding resources, refusing to address a staffing crisis and placing the health and wellbeing of patients and caregivers at risk. Most healthcare workers are traumatized after working during the deadly COVID-19 6
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pandemic. Health systems administrators don’t seem to understand that one can survive and still struggle. Just because nurses and other healthcare workers survived the worst days of the pandemic, doesn’t mean that they are physically, mentally or financially sound. Many are weary of excuses, delays, and broken promises. While hospital systems excuse the slow pace of hiring more nurses by saying they are maintaining ‘staffing consistent with census,’ this explanation is illogical. In some parts of the hospital, staffing ratios are dangerously high. In actuality, hospital administrators are being are nonresponsive to the pleas of frontline workers, and this puts patients at risk.
Refusing to Act For nearly a year, Northwell has refused to fill over 60 vacant nursing positions. The hospital has refused to hire and retain a professional, permanent nursing staff. Consequently, in virtually every unit on every floor at SIUH/Northwell, this hospital falls short of nurses needed to staff safely. In fact, ratios are not even close to what professional staffing levels demand. Nursing is about science and caring for patients. For the two to merge, hospital systems such as Northwell must be engaged. They are ultimately responsible for the conditions in our hospital. They have made a mockery of nurses and healthcare workers, patients, and the entire Staten Island community.
This puts all of us — nurses, patients and their families — in danger. Everyone from NYSNA’s President, Nancy Hagans, RN, to our union’s executive director, Patricia Kane, RN, to rank and file members have spoken out about the predicament facing nurses and patients. The question is, ‘who is listening’ and ‘who will act?’
After a long, hard-fought struggle, members and healthcare workers succeeded in getting landmark hospital and nursing home staffing legislation passed into state law.
NYSNA members celebrate safe staffing law.
Safe Staffing Law a Key Milestone in 2021 With the COVID-19 pandemic and fear over new variants of the virus, the past two years have been brutal for everyone, especially healthcare workers. Healthcare workers were thrust into a battle for which few people understood. For many nurses and frontline health staff, this period has been among the most challenging of their personal and professional lives. The light at the end of the tunnel, however, came with passage of a new safe staffing law in the summer of 2021. After a long, hard-fought struggle, members and healthcare workers succeeded in getting landmark hospital and nursing home staffing legislation passed into state law. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law on June 18, meaning effective Jan. 2022, there is a process in place for setting and enforcing staffing standards at every hospital in the state — regardless of whether the facility is public or private, not-forprofit or for-profit, union or non-union. Implementation of the staffing law for nursing homes has been delayed, unfortunately.
The new law establishes clinical staffing committees of at least 50% frontline nurses and direct care staff who will set annual staffing standards for each unit of a facility. Employers must meet with workers on equal footing and establish a staffing plan. The measure enforces facilities yearly staffing plan through the Department of Health. Healthcare facility operators who fail to create or abide by staffing standards will face civil penalties. Additionally, the measure requires the Department of Health to create new minimum staffing standards for ICUs and critical care units.
Saving Lives This is critical as hospitals that staff 1:8 nurse-to-patient ratios experience five additional deaths per 1,000 patients than a 1:4 nurse-to-patient ratio according to the Journal of the American Medical Association, 2002. Moreover, the odds of patient death increases by 7% for each additional patient the nurse must take on at one time the Journal of the American Medical Association, 2002 reports. Passage of the safe staffing law was a huge win for nurses, healthcare workers,
patients, and nursing home residents throughout the state. Now, it is imperative that we continue to organize to ensure that this implementation of this hallmark legislation is not delayed. Administrators will claim that with understaffing, they cannot be required to adhere to a new law. But this law was passed for a reason and hospitals and health systems must comply. As we gear up to defend what we have won, we are clear that we would not have made it this far without members’ persistent and strong advocacy. NYSNA nurses made their voices heard at the bedside, in the streets, and in the halls of Albany. NYSNA nurses also partnered with fellow healthcare professionals from 1199SEIU and CWA District 1 to demand safe staffing for the entire care team. This solidarity helped secure this victory. As the union moves into the next phase of work, it is essential that nurses sign up to be a Safe Staffing Captain. Interested parties can register on NYSNA’s website, with their organizer or visiting this link: https://www.nysna. org/dashboard#.YbZ8dbpOk2w. 2021: We are one
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A Message from NYSNA’s Board of Directors The No. 1 priority for NYSNA’s Board of Directors is the physical, mental, and emotional safety of members. We know that we cannot address the systemic challenges experienced by patients and healthcare professionals without attending to underlying conditions. As we organize to ensure the health of members and communities, we want you to share three things: Implementing the Staffing Law is a Priority: We are committed to ensuring the implementation of the staffing law and we will not relent until the policy is fully in effect. While employers have an incentive to delay this measure, NYSNA is singularly focused on the law’s implementation. We are channeling all our energy and resources to this struggle as we do not intend to surrender this major victory.
and professional development through NYSNA. NYSNA offers a host of workshops, courses, and programs to help you grow as individuals and as nurses. From tuition reimbursement to educational workshops, to certification review classes, opportunities to prepare for the clinical ladder program, to special events offered by Nurse Education and Practice or Labor Education, opportunities abound. Workshops are one click away.
Opportunities Abound: In 2022, we hope you will take advantage of the numerous opportunities for personal
No Matter What, Do Not Lose Hope: We know the last couple of years have been filled with ups and downs. For some of us, the bad has outweighed the good. With new variants of COVID-19, there is also fresh cause for concern. We also know that most members have been forced to work in less-than-ideal working conditions — conditions that can crush the body and the soul. But we will prevail if we remain united and if we maintain hope.
PRESIDENT
10. Flandersia Jones, RN, BSN, MPH,
1. Nancy Hagans, BSN, RN, CCRN, Maimonides Medical Center
FIRST VICE PRESIDENT 2. Judith Cutchin, MSN, RN, NYC H+H, Woodhull Hospital, Executive Council President of NYC H+H/Mayorals
SECOND VICE PRESIDENT 3. Marion Enright, RN, Nathan Littauer Hospital
SECRETARY 4. Nella Pineda-Marcon, BSN, RN-BC, Mount Sinai St. Luke
TREASURER 5. Jayne Cammisa, BSN, RN, Westchester County Healthcare Corp.
DIRECTORS AT LARGE 6. Matt Allen, RN, BSN, Mt. Sinai Hospital 7. Reginalt Atangan, RN, Queens Hospital Center
8. Marie Boyle, RN, BSN, South Shore University Hospital (Semi-retired)
9. Seth B. Dressekie, MSN, RN, PMHNPBC, Woodhull Hospital (retired)
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BronxCare Health System
11. Michelle Jones, RN, MSN, ANP-C, Flushing Medical Center
12. Sonia M. Lawrence, RN, BSN, Lincoln Hospital
13. Benny K. Mathew, RN, MS, CCRN,
CEN, SCRN, Montefiore Medical Center
14. Ari Moma, RN, MSA, Interfaith Medical Center
15. Jean Erica Padgett, RN, Morgan
Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York Presbyterian
Regional Directors 16. Bruce Lavalle, RN, AD BS, MSN, MS, CCRN, Peconic Bay Medical Center (South Eastern Region)
17. Aretha Morgan, RN, New YorkPresbyterian (Southern Region)
18. Steven Bailey, RN, Erie County Medical Center (Western Region)
19. Catherine Dawson, RN, CNOR, MSN, Ellis Hospital (Central Region)
20. Cynthia Lena, RN, Vassar Brothers
Medical Center (Lower Hudson/NJ Region)
21. Bill Schneider, RN, CCRN, Adirondack Medical Center (Eastern Region)
Executive Director Patricia Kane, RN, CNOR, NYSNA
Safe Staffing Campaign This year, there has been considerable analysis, planning, and focus on the state’s new safe staffing law. Highlights are below: Staffing Captain 2.0 Program
iWestchester Medical Center RNsi
Strategic Research Fueled Our Campaigns in 2021 In 2021, the Strategic Research Department worked hard to support NYSNA campaigns that were launched before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We were pleased to support nurses as they sought dignity and respect on the job by offering research on new organizing opportunities, policy, the new safe staffing law, new COVID-19 cases in New York state, collective bargaining fights, and the strategic resource center. While our efforts were varied, we will highlight a few big projects such as new organizing research and the safe staffing campaign.
New Organizing Research To have a strong voice on the job nurses must unite with one another in a union. By working closely with our colleagues in New Organizing, we supported ongoing campaigns and offered research for union expansion in new regions. To identify new regions, we conducted strategic analysis of union density, NYSNA membership, staffing requirements and patient care.
We drafted an extensive analysis of RN union density statewide. The research focused on density by health system as well as geographic regions while accounting for overall health care worker density and union density in general. To obtain a deeper understanding of NYSNA’s reach and impact, and further assist with guiding us on where to focus efforts, we also included an accounting of where NYSNA’s membership and political strength had experienced the most influence. These findings were then coupled with another important component regarding reach and impact and that was in the area of new leads. We determined where our colleagues in New Organizing received leads from non-union nurses and applied that knowledge to our research. One final element included in our research was to account for the new staffing law that will go into effect January 1, 2022. We agreed there will be opportunities to use that law to facilitate New Organizing.
We’ve completed and distributed staffing summaries and report cards so facilities could measure and compare staffing levels. We successfully compiled the various and disparate staffing standards that NYSNA won both contractually and through representative work. We built a database of all available staffing requirements (ratios, fixed numbers of RNs, grids, etc.) into a centralized location. This allowed us to know exactly which days had poor and adequate staffing. Using this new tool, we built dashboards to enable our committees to help monitor implementation and compliance with the new safe staffing law. Examples of these dashboards are available on the NYSNA website. We continued to integrate Protest of Assignment campaign data into the Staffing Captains data as well. A quarterly update on staffing captains ensured that we captured trends in the program to help inform programmatic goals. Analysis of Staffing Bill
We assisted with the analysis of the staffing bill that was passed by the legislature in May of 2021. Specifically, we shed light on the context within which the bill was developed. We looked to the modeled language in Washington State and how that law was passed and structured. We examined enforcement of that law, the published guidelines, and measured the response of organized labor and affinity groups once the law was passed. We also investigated legislative responses following the introductory period of the legislation. We analyzed the implementation of the new standards in the long-term care bill introduced and passed in the state legislature. In 2022, we look forward to using these new tools to support nurses in their efforts to care for themselves and patients. 2021: We are one
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Technology and Membership Department Report Technology is a facilitator. It makes everyday tasks seamless and efficient. Our technology and membership department worked hard to ensure routine but essential tasks take less time. This allows members and staff to focus on what really matters; solidifying their voice on the job and improving patient care. See below for information on what we’ve been able to accomplish.
Direct Payer Program Launched at Albany Medical Center In July 2021, NYSNA launched a new program at Albany Medical Center where members pay their dues directly to NYSNA instead of by payroll deduction. With direct pay, members are in the drivers’ seat, instead of the boss. During the Trump administration, the National Labor Relations Board allowed several employers to stop NYSNA payroll deductions when the contract expired. While we hope this rule will be overturned under the Biden administration, the new direct payer system protects NYSNA by giving us an alternate method to collect dues. We are using the rollout at Albany Medical Center to put together all needed procedures and policies to manage a direct payer system. In September, we rolled out the ability for members to pay their dues by automated bank withdrawal instead of a credit card. We may consider rolling out this platform to other facilities if it continues to be successful.
Standardizing 2.02 Enforcement Most of our contracts in the private sector include union security clauses that allow us to collect back dues from employees who do not sign up as NYSNA members (or objectors) in a timely manner. NYSNA’s old 2.02 enforcement policy was extremely harsh and often made 10
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new members feel unwelcome. Under the new, standardized procedure, field staff are reaching out to employees who have not signed authorization cards and try to resolve the situation in a way that builds union solidarity. We have trained all field staff on our new procedure.
New Membership Reporting Language for Contracts NYSNA’s contracts do not currently have standard language around what information employers must provide about employees in our bargaining units. We have prepared standardized language to be inserted in NYSNA contracts that specifies what information is required, and also requires employers to send this information by secure electronic transfer instead of the mail. In addition, this language removes the requirement to send Social Security Numbers, since NYSNA does not collect or store this information. This new standardized information will help us more efficiently: lW ork with employer payroll
departments to identify and solve dues issues. l I dentify employees in each bargaining
unit who need to be invited to join NYSNA.
Online Event Registration Labor Education launched a new system allowing members to register for NYSNA workshops online and receive automated reminders of their event. This initiative is part of our effort to automate routine tasks. We have also automated many tasks in the Membership Department in the past 18 months.
Ensuring Text Message Deliverability NYSNA staff regularly use text messaging to promote meetings, events, and other union activities. We also use
NYSNA’s Technology and Membership Department worked hard to ensure routine but essential tasks take less time. our text messaging system to send staffing captains their daily reminders. Recently, cell phone carriers have started restricting text messages they believe are spam. NYSNA is working closely with our text messaging providers to make sure our messages reach out members regularly and reliably. We have seen no decline in text messaging deliverability since the carriers instituted their changes. As part of these changes, NYSNA has leased a new dedicated “short code” to send our messages — 39909. We will be phasing out the 877-877 short code, which was shared by several organizations, later this year.
New security changes NYSNA’s Technology team upgraded our hardware and software to offer an additional layer of protection for confidential information and user security. This year, we rolled out a number of new technology tools and hardware to harden our infrastructure. We also hosted security trainings for staff.
Technology Training for All NYSNA Staff We launched a series of training classes for NYSNA staff on Word, OneDrive, Excel, and Salesforce, our membership database. We will launch a second series of more advanced classes on newsletters and flyers, Excel formulas, and Salesforce reporting in 2022. These classes will become a standard offerings for all new NYSNA staff.
Labor Education Report In 2021, NYSNA’s Labor Education Department deepened its commitment to centering the experiences, skills, and expertise of NYSNA member and staff. The department offered a host of trainings and workshops. The intention was to offer workshops and programming that is more useful and practical for members organizing to improve working conditions and patient care. Through collaboration with the Field Department, our work supported NYSNA’s mission to advocate for nurses and patients. Below is a snapshot of trainings and workshops offered in 2021:
Nurse Leader Training In late February, Labor Education and Nursing Education and Practice completed the accreditation process for a revised, Zoom version of Member Leader Training. With input and guidance from the Member Engagement and Leadership Development Committee (MELD), we reorganized the content of what was formerly a two-part program conducted over two full days into four half-day sections (3.5 hours) to accommodate the limits of productive online learning.
Bargaining Training Beginning in February, Labor Education assisted with the creation and facilitation of a comprehensive twoday bargaining curriculum for staff and LBU leaders. The goal was to provide training for staff in all aspects of bargaining from organizing contract campaigns to leading the table as chief spokesperson. The curriculum tapped into the expertise and experience of NYSNA staff and members and included presentations, small group exercises, and large group discussions. One section on Working in Teams highlighted how NYSNA’s many departments (Legal, Research, PCO, Labor Education, NEP, Comms) all play a role in the contract process. The training also covered proposal writing, table tactics, bargaining committee rules, costing out, contract action teams, elements of a model contract campaign, and escalating tactics. The training was well received by staff and member participants and will be repeated more broadly for more members leading into 2022 bargaining. Labor Education also
Staffing Law Education In July, Labor Education developed a workshop to introduce members to the elements of the New York State staffing law and to begin engaging them in the many organizing tasks that are necessary to make the law a successful tool to improve patient care. The program began with introductory remarks from NYSNA President Nancy Hagans or another top leader, followed by an overview covering the staffing committee, the facility staffing plan, the law’s transparency and reporting requirements, enforcement, timeline, and the independent commission. After a questions and reactions, we went more deeply into the facility committee and the importance of developing collaborative relationships with the members and representatives of the non-nurse healthcare workers covered by the law. This workshop was offered in July, September and then during the NYSNA Convention in Oct.
Facility Specific Delegate and Leader Trainings
Each section is separately accredited (3 CEs/0.3CEUs). The four parts can be taken independently, in any order, or as a series. A test run for small groups was conducted in March and after some modifications, the full series was run again in April. A second series was conducted in April and May, and a third in July and August. (A fourth series had been scheduled for September and early October. Part 1 of the September/ October series was conducted successfully but the three remaining parts conflicted with the heavily programmed weeks of the Convention educational series and were canceled. We are in the process of rescheduling them for the post-Convention period.) More than 200 nurses from facilities around the state participated and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
supported the Dec. 6 Bargaining Retreat which saw members from 36 local bargaining units participate.
Labor Education also offered training for the following facilities
New York Presbyterian Labor Education conducted two workshops in March for new stewards in the New York Presbyterian LBU. The trainings focused on the critical role that stewards play representing other members when they are being questioned by managers about alleged wrongdoings. The training was coordinated with the NYP staff representatives who provided reallife investigatory scenarios for the participants to discuss.
Westchester Medical Center
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Beginning in January 2021, Labor Education held monthly meetings with the WMC Executive Committee, which includes several new members, to Continued on page 12 2021: We are one
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Labor Education Continued from page 11
assist their development as organizers and leaders. The WMC committee was released for a full-day on the first Wednesday of the month and two hours was set-aside for labor education training and leadership development. We developed a curriculum, adapted from Nurse Leader Trainings, that focused on rounding, organizing, assessing situations, one-on-one conversations, and preparing for bargaining. In July, Labor Education worked the field department on a day-long in-person bargaining training that was adapted from the two-day bargaining training conducted earlier for NYSNA staff and later in the summer for staff and bargaining committee leaders.
Albany Medical Center — Strike Captain Training In December, when Albany Medical Center nurses moved to conduct a oneday strike, Labor Education coordinated with the organizing department to conduct general membership and strike captain training for AMC members and leaders. The training focused on Strike Captains role turning out their units for picket line duty and providing support and practice for the one-on-one conversations that captains were having with their co-workers. The trainings drew on the expertise of other departments as well, particularly legal and health and safety. Labor Education also promoted and helped support the establishment of an AMC Strike Captains What’s App group to facilitate communication among captains, staff, and Executive Committee leadership. More than 100 members attended the trainings held in the weeks before the strike.
Racial Justice Trainings In 2020 NYSNA committed the organization — members and staff — to a deeply transformative project to incorporate the struggle for racial justice into the core of our work as a healthcare union. After a series of presentations, facilitated conversations and an 12
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iBernetta Urquhart, RN, Montefiore Mount Vernon Hospitali
endorsed framework by the elected leadership in the summer and fall 2020, a curriculum was developed and offered to all staff. The trainings included: l the history of race; lu nderstanding racism in the US and in
the labor movement; lu nderstanding how the system of
racism manifests; l the concept of differential treatment; l the strategy of divide and conquer; la n interactive session with a role plays
on how to understand and interrupt oppressive moments; la presentation on racism in
healthcare — a historical perspective but small group work based on existing NYSNA programs about black maternal mortality, H+H, social determinants of health and how publicly funded healthcare programs are tied to the civil rights movement. A significant portion of the program (one fourth) was dedicated to group work around generating ideas for how to integrate racial justice into NYSNA’s existing work and how to talk to coworkers about the need to proceed with a racial justice agenda when encountering resistance.
Convention Educational Program In addition to the two Staffing Law classes mentioned above that
were a key part of the educational programming connected with the 2021 NYSNA Convention, Labor Education developed two additional workshops: Advocacy in Bargaining, focused on the important leadership and organizing skills necessary for strong contract campaigns, including building contract action teams, assessments, and strategic escalation during the campaign. In Healthcare Justice for All, participants watched the documentary Power to Heal about the Civil Rights movements crucial support for the passage of Medicare in the 1960s and discussed it’s relevance to today’s fight for single payer healthcare. Labor Education assisted other departments in the development and presentation of their educational program.
Webinar Panel Discussions Labor Education worked with H+H Area Co-Director Henry Rose to conduct a series of educational webinar panel discussions (for Black History Month, Women’s History Month, International Solidarity, etc.) featuring guest speakers and other nurse union leaders. The goal was to develop the political analysis and understanding among members by presenting outside speakers who discussed issues of race, class, gender and international solidarity in a manner that connects with members’ lived experiences.
Nursing Education and Practice Report NYSNA’s Nursing Education and Practice department exists to strengthen the nursing practice and support healthcare professionals. NEP offers continuing education courses, workshops to promote health and safety, and practice resources. It also issues practice alerts and position statements, and guidance for nurses completing Protest of Assignment forms. Like so many, NEP understands that for years the nursing practice has been under attack. Short staffing, de-skilling, unit restructuring, and the technological arms race can each limit nurses’ time at the bedside and harm patient care. Healthcare professionals only hope is in educating ourselves, remaining in solidarity with one another, and never hesitating to advocate for what nurses and patients need. Towards that end, NEP supported the following major initiatives in 2021 and highlights are below: l ANCC and IACET Reaccreditation of the
NEP Provider Unit for the next 5 years l HWRI grant to complete RN-to-BSN,
Psychiatric Mental Health NP, & Adult Gerontological NP l Provision of education and individual
assistance to H + H members to achieve clinical ladder l Developing relationships with Schools
of Nursing to improve benefits to NYSNA members NEP also worked to: l Strengthen LBUs — Building Union
Power through Member Education l Link Workplace Issues to Communities
by Forging Alliances with Community Organizations and Colleges l Build Political Power through
Legislative Advocacy l Advance Social, Racial and Economic
Justice via Research and Education
NEP advanced several issue-based goals Last year, NEP worked to achieve several issue-based goals including: Protecting nurses on the front lines l NEP/Health & Safety staff members
has focused on member and staff education, technical assistance to NYSNA staff, member leaders and rank and file members, CBA language advisement and production of written materials and on issues related to specific workplace controls to limit COVID exposure. l NEP staff gave testimony to
Westchester County Board of Legislators Health Committee regarding POA reports and correlation to DOH complaints and Leapfrog reports to support demands for increased staffing within the facility. Demanding a seat at the table in the planning & implementation of pandemic response and disaster programs l NEP staff published articles in The
Journal of the New York State Nurses Association recommending that nurses take action in the broader community and share lessons learned in preparation for the next pandemic. Winning Safe Staffing: in our LBUs and in the statehouse l NEP conducted workshops on the
acuity system, how to develop acuity tools, safe staffing research, and patient care chronicles. l NEP staff provided research
and support to multiple NYSNA departments including Political and Community Organizing, Communications and Field Organizing.
l NEP provided Education to nursing
schools and international nurses from India linking healthcare system dysfunction to the for-profit nature of healthcare delivery systems and the healthcare industry Make nursing an essential and attractive profession l NEP staff created a booklet on the
historic and current racial inequities in all aspects of healthcare and in the history/hiring of nurses. l The team also administered the Secor
Scholarship. The Secor Scholarship Fund, established in 2007, is made possible by a generous bequest by long-time NYSNA member Jane Secor, PhD, RN. Dr. Secor stipulated that the endowment be used for furthering nursing education. NYSNA awards two Secor Scholarships annually: $5,000 to a NYSNA member seeking
a baccalaureate (or higher) degree in nursing. 5,000 to a family member of a $ NYSNA member seeking a first degree in nursing. The degree can be at any level, but it must be the first degree in nursing sought by the applicant. l NEP conducting certification review
programs for free via zoom in the several specialty practice areas, including: Ambulatory Care Certification Cardiac Surgery Certification Critical Care Certification Electronic Fetal Monitoring Certification Emergency Nurse Certification Gerontological Nurse Certification PACU Nurse Certification
Fighting for accessible, affordable quality healthcare for all
Pediatric/Critical Care Nurse Certification
l NEP staff members created an
Progressive Care Nurse Certification
education program on social determinants of health, poverty, lack of unsafe housing, violence, etc. via the medical mission educational program and a partnership with Excelsior College.
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Certification Stroke Nurse Certification Telementry Fundamentals Review Wound Care Nurse Certification 2021: We are one
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Political And Community Organizing Department Report We know that in addition to members organizing with one another, they must also organize with the broader community, including elected leaders, to win improvements for patients and healthcare professionals. The Political and Community Organizing (PCO) department understands that what happens on the job impacts various communities. Healthcare workers are a part of the community. Many work in healthcare settings but have at one time been patients. When workers are not treated well, the community will suffer. The workplace and the community overlap. When psych units are closed, workers are displaced and communities lose access to crucial mental health services. When nurses negotiate safe staffing, families have a higher degree of confidence that their loved ones will be well cared for.
their patients. To ensure that members have a strong voice on the job, PCO focused on building NYSNA’s political power through:
Over the last year, PCO has worked to ensure political leaders and the public understand the issues confronting nurses and healthcare professionals and
In addition, PCO ensured that members had an audience with the people who create, implement and enforce the law by arranging one-on-one meetings with elected leaders, inviting elected leaders to member speak-outs, informational pickets, rallies and town halls, and
Senator Chuck Schumer visits Lincoln Medical Center. 14
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l Training members, l Educating elected leaders and the
public, and l Building coalitions.
The PCO department supported members’ leadership by developing Political Action Teams (PAT) in local bargaining units and organizing regional PAT meetings. PAT members met with a host of state and local legislators in several regions of the state to educate them about issues like short staffing and the need for mental health services. PAT members also participated in candidate interviews for local elected office and volunteered to help get out the vote (GOTV).
urging elected leaders to use their power to impact the material conditions of working people. For instance, NYSNA members would not have had an audience with Attorney General Leticia James or Governor Kathy Hochul without Michelle Crentsil, the director of PCO, the PCO team and NYSNA Executive Director Pat Kane. PCO also forged alliances with community organizations and other unions to support the Save and Transform Mount Vernon Hospital Coalition and the Kingston Campus of HealthAlliance Hospital. Both entities hugely impact their communities. With members’ strong voices and assistance from local leaders and dozens of community-based groups, NYSNA was able to increase awareness about these campaigns. Notably, we helped publish the “Unequal Empire” report on the Montefiore system and racism and socioeconomic disparities in healthcare (Mount Vernon). In fact, County Executive Pat Ryan created a Mental Health Task Force (HealthAlliance), and NYSNA is a member of that influential entity.
Judith Cutchins, RN, and Sonia Lawrence, RN with Congressman Ritchie Torres
NYSNA Members at NY-P Brooklyn Methodist Hospital with NYS Attorney General Letitia James
To build political power, the PCO team organized in support of key legislation, specific candidates and mutually beneficial coalitions. Obviously, one of the biggest pieces of legislation PCO organized in support of was the safe staffing legislation. NYSNA submitted testimony, arranged legislative visits, made one-on-one phone calls and hosted actions in support of the legislation, which will help nurses and patients alike. We are clear that a key priority for 2022 is ensuring the safe staffing law is implemented as promised.
Constance Clark, RN, joins speak out to raise awareness about conditions at Rikers.
LaborStrong2021 NYSNA partnered with 4 other labor unions (SEIU 32BJ, DC37, Hotel Trades Council, and Communications Workers of America), to create a coalition called LaborStrong2021. Labor Strong 2021 made joint endorsements in 35 city council seats, making this the biggest, labor-funded effort in the primary election. The coalition, representing over 362,000 essential workers, had an impact, winning 28 city council races. We proved that when workers unite, we win! In addition to the LaborStrong2021 partnership, NSYNA endorsed in 9 other
NYC races winning 7 of them. This includes former NYSNA member, Mercedes Narcisse, who won her primary election for City Council District 46 in Brooklyn. NYSNA candidates for NYC Mayor, Public Advocate, Bronx Borough President, Manhattan Borough President, and Queens Borough President were also successful in their elections. NYSNA also helped make history, by successfully backing councilmember Adrienne Adams for NYC Council Speaker. She is the first Black Speaker in the Council’s history. Thank to members, the majority of NYSNA’s NYC endorsed candidates won their races.
Nonviolent Medicaid Army rally at Montefiore Mount Vernon Hospital 2021: We are one
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Communications Department Report Communications is an organizing tool. In the context of labor organizing, it is a tool to amplify the interests, concerns, and needs of working people. Communications is also a means of highlighting the gap between what employers say and what they do. NYSNA is proud to have a robust communications department which consists of a press secretary, communications manager, graphic designer, interim communications director and communications coordinator. Each member of NYSNA’s Communications Department values the sacred responsibility they share in amplifying the voices of healthcare professionals. This past year, the team worked to advance: l Safe Staffing. l Better contracts. l Action on the climate crisis. l Racial justice. l A Universal Healthcare System where
healthcare is seen as a basic Human Right. The team employed a host of tactics to further NYSNA’s work, including: l Developing and distributing press
releases and press advisories. l Publishing the New York Nurse
magazine. l Creating logos for NYSNA campaigns
and events, including the 2021 Convention.
Convention 2021 Logo
l Investing in paid advertising to detail
what was at stake during contract fights. l Developing and deploying graphics,
memes, and other content for social media. l Organizing press conferences
featuring NYSNA members. l Facilitating email and digital outreach.
For instance, in 2021, the department sent close to 1000 e-blasts, including messages to members (such as Weekly Updates and the digital version of New York Nurse), correspondence around legislative and political advocacy, practice alerts and facility updates. l Earned media coverage. NYSNA’s
communications team landed a series of frontpage stories or in-depth
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Daily News, 11/15/21
features in 2021 including a March 12 story in Gannett publications titled, “Montefiore expansion into Hudson Valley reinforced racial disparities, NY nurses claim,” a November 15 feature in the New York Daily News titled, “NYC nurses sound the alarm over ‘massive’ staffing shortages at hospitals amid COVID pandemic, plan protests,” and a November 18 story in the Poughkeepsie Journal that ran in Gannett publications across New York, “New York’s nurses have endured the unimaginable. Here’s how they’re still fighting COVID.”
social media NYSNA’s communications team also maintained a strong social media presence in 2021. In the past year, NYSNA’s posts reached over 600,000 people on Facebook, where we gained over 1.2k followers in 2021. NYSNA’s Twitter gained over 600 followers in 2021, bringing our total followers to 8,100. During a series of safe staffing actions throughout New York, over 60 elected officials, candidates, and allied organizations tweeted in support of nurses and the hospital staffing bills. NYSNA’s Instagram page now has 8,089 followers (including 1.6k new followers in 2021). The best performing post of the year was NYSNA’s statement on the CDC’s change in quarantine guidelines. The post received more than 5k likes and was shared more than 9.8k times via IG stories or person-to-person messages.
Ratified Contracts in 2021 For decades, nurses have been on the frontlines caring for our communities in the midst of some of the nation’s worst healthcare challenges. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses were working overtime to ensure that patients recovered well. But during the global pandemic, the role of nurses and healthcare workers cannot be overstated. Today, there is a greater appreciation for the fact that our healthcare system does not work for nurses and other caregivers. Nurses account for more than half of the world’s healthcare workers and
should be treated with dignity and respect. In addition to being present at the bedside, NYSNA members played a pivotal role in contract negotiations. Because of their leadership, several facilities ratified new contracts. See below for a list of facilities and bargaining units that reached new agreements in 2021. These negotiations were more than routine, perfunctory processes; they paved the way for nurses and healthcare professionals to provide the level of care that they would want offered to neighbors, friends and family.
After reading, be sure to congratulate your union family in these bargaining units. Alice Hyde Medical Center A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital Albany Medical Center Bronx Care Midwives Brooks Memorial Hospital Bertrand Chaffee Hospital/Home Fresenius, New York Dialysis Services Hospice and Palliative Care Jewish Home Lifecare Lackawanna CSD LICH Staffco of Brooklyn Massena Memorial Hospital Montefiore New Rochelle New Jewish Home Mount Sinai Midwife Services Elmhurst Hospital Center Nathan Littauer Hospital NY Dialysis Services – Monte III & IV, Nephrocare, and Soundshore NY Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai Olean General Hospital Onondaga County PAGNY CRNAs and Midwives Royalton Hartland CSD SIUH/Northwell Health Staten Island University Hospital
iAlbany Medical centeri iMontefiore New rochellei
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Mount Sinai System: Patients Cannot Heal When Nurses are Stretched So Thin Post-COVID, staffing has been a challenge across the Mount Sinai Health System. There are major staffing issues at Mount Sinai Main in oncology (related to rapid increase of program and poor retention), Maternal Child Health (due to unpredictability of births), and a stepdown unit (poor recruiting). Nurses are pressing the hospital while doing their part to formulate short and longterm plans to care for themselves and patients. But one thing is crystal clear; patients cannot heal if their caregivers are overwhelmed and stretched thin.
“In the last three months, we’ve only had 26 full-time nurses, versus the allotted 56 required for the recommended 2:1 nurse-to-patient ratio,” said Philipp Lee Carabuena, RN, and an NSICU nurse at Mount Sinai. “Nine travel nurses have been hired to fill the gap, which still leaves us 40% under capacity. Daily, we are taking on three to four patients due to the shortage. Nurses are often staying 24 hours to fill the gap. This is unsafe for our patients and a moral injury for hardworking nurses.”
Noting that conditions are worse than they have ever been, Mount Sinai nurses and community leaders held speak outs on Dec. 6 and Dec. 15, 2021. The speak outs were part of a broader series of rolling actions at facilities downstate. It is clear that staffing is an issue across the Mount Sinai system, but nurses all over the state are suffering due to staffing shortages.
The staffing shortage comes as Mount Sinai oversees $1.7 billion in cash and liquid assets, and invests millions in advertising. Meanwhile, more than 300 nursing positions are vacant. This is not a new problem. All year, nurses have sounded the alarm about understaffing. While this year has been painful, there have been small victories. Read on to learn more.
Rays of Hope — Victories The Mount Sinai system was one of the few NYSNA facilities that permitted executive committees to verify the COVID PPE stockpile. Access was granted after an aggressive campaign to get access. There have been numerous overtime incentives and recruitment incentives to improve the staffing levels on hard hit units. The results have been mixed with some improvements to staffing levels, although this is an area for continued focus. Mount Sinai Morningside/West held new Committee Elections in May 2021. Over half the committee is comprised of new leaders eager to make an impact. For the first time in New York Eye and New York Eye history, management responded to NYSNA and agreed to convert one unit to flex time. Nurses at the New Jewish Home recently ratified an extension to their collective bargaining agreement that included pay increases and improvements to the experience scale. For the first time in over 25 years, nurses will experience an increase in their experience pay. In most instances the increase would be 50-100% higher than the previous scale. The experience scale at the New Jewish Home has not seen improvements for over 25 years.
Nurses from Mount Sinai West host a speak out for safe staffing on December 1, 2021. 18
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The largest issue at the New Jewish Home remains staffing and the new staffing law that comes into effect on 1/1/2022. The membership agreed to the extension with the intent of increasing leverage during the required joint staffing meetings with management and 1199. The extension contract will expire during the first quarter of 2021.
Upstate Highlights The past year has been punctuated by concerns over COVID, staffing, wages, and contracts. There isn’t a healthcare professional in the country, much less New York state, who hasn’t been impacted by these issues. This was therefore the focus for nurses Upstate and below is a list of highlights connected to staffing, working conditions, contracts and COVID-19: Allegany County – In 2020, the county attempted to eliminate flu clinic services noting they would reap a cost-savings and that the service was duplicative. NYSNA members fought back and there has been no elimination of flu clinic services to date. Brooks Memorial Hospital – Everyone should be assured of their health and safety when they go to work. This belief inspired NYSNA to take on the issue of workplace violence. The organizing intensified after a member was assaulted by a patient at Brooks, one of the few all professional units, represented by NYSNA. Consequently, the executive committee demanded personal safety alarms for members and other nursing staff and changes to supervision requirements. Elizabethtown – NYSNA members continued to organize in protest of problematic working conditions which compromise nurse and patient safety. After a nurse leader filed a Protest of Assignment over conditions in the Emergency Room, management posted two new positions.
The union’s political and community organizing department arranged a meeting with Erie County legislator April Baskin to discuss the importance of safe staffing and dangerous understaffing across various units at ECMC.
iEllis Hospital RNs at nurses weeki
Ellis Hospital – The Psychiatric units have been condensed to 18 beds with the Adolescent Psychiatric unit capped at 8. Due to increased code greys, staffing inadequacy, and other challenges, nurses successfully demanded increased security. A security room was created on B3. Security must round every hour and if a high-risk patient is admitted, security must remain on the unit. Separately, we currently have nine class actions regarding staffing violations and management’s refusal to follow the CBA staffing grids. A step one grievance hearing was held for all nine class actions. Ellis management responded with a $20,000 Retention and Recruitment Bonus and is currently meeting to discuss additional pilots and proposals. ECMC/Terrace View – NYSNA supported members at ECMC in submitting and documenting over 1,115 POAs (signed by over 2,900 nurses) over unsafe conditions at the facility.
Gouverneur – The Committee bargained Pilot Programs to address recruitment issues and staffing shortages. A Pilot was developed to provide RNs who agree to one year employment $10,000.00, another Pilot was developed to provide current RNs $5,000.00 for referring RNs who accept employment at the Hospital, and the last Pilot was developed to provide additional compensation to RNs who volunteer to work extra shifts. In addition to their regular/premium rates of pay, RNs who work an extra day shift will be paid $30.00 per hour and $40.00 per hour for extra night shift work. Horseheads Central School District – Negotiations continue with the school district. NYSNA represents nine nurses throughout the district who work in separate buildings. We’ve been working to dissuade the school district from increasing members’ contributions to the health insurance plan. We have also protested changes to the retiree plan. It has been difficult to move the employer off this position as other Unions have already agreed to managements offer. Nathan Littauer – A second-floor room was remodeled and dedicated strictly for nurses on-call. NY Dialysis Kenmore – We are gearing up for contract negotiations at Fresenius in Kenmore, NY, where NYSNA representS 3 members. During the Dec. 6 bargaining conference, members set priorities and expressed excitement about upcoming negotiations. Olean – After extensive organizing over hospital operations, the CEO of Olean resigned. The interim CEO has yet to meet with NYSNA but our push for the health system to resolve the staffing crisis continues.
inathan Littauer hospitali
Continued on page 20 2021: We are one
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Upstate highlights Continued from page 19
Putnam Hospital – In April, Putnam Hospital laid off eleven NYSNA members. Because layoffs impact patient care and a community’s access to health services, members notified elected officials, the media as well as the broader community. St. Anthony’s Community Hospital – The 100 RNs organized during COVID are currently bargaining their first contract.
management company was brought in to try to right size the Adult Care Center. University of Vermont Health NetworkCVPH – We had a huge win when a Paid Family Leave grievance was settled the day before arbitration. The Employer conceded that they had been wrongfully making members make up weekend shifts when those members utilized Paid Family Leave time. The Collective Bargaining
Agreement is very clear in stating members using approved leave will not be required to make up weekend shifts missed. Going forward, no member will be required to make up a weekend shift when using Paid Family Leave or FMLA. Vassar Brothers Medical Center – The members of Vassar Brothers Medical successfully prevented the hospital from floating members outside their float districts throughout COVID. This was a huge win for patients and nurses.
St. Elizabeth Medical Center – Through the grievance process, the employer agreed to pay back wages from the last 13 years for an Employee whose longevity payment was omitted from base pay, amounting to over $4,300. Sullivan County – The Legislature planned to sell the Adult Care Center. NYSNA pushed back and worked to block the sale. The Legislature relented and a
After three years, Abany Medical Center RNs won a first contract bringing them a stronger voice in patient care.
School Nurses: On the Frontlines, but Forgotten When most people think of the strain of the COVID-19 health crisis on healthcare workers, they think of people who work in hospitals or health systems. The plight of school nurses is often overlooked or misunderstood. But school nurses find themselves in a vicious fight of being underfunded in state budgets, poorly resourced (meaning they are often doing administrative as well as the technical aspects of their jobs) and needing to support the emotional wellbeing of children and young people as well as adults. Equally important, school nurses have been forced to cope with a pandemic that has at turns shuttered schools and overwhelmed school officials. In addition to monitoring for the common cold or flu, school nurses are now tasked with contract tracing in buildings over-flowing with young people. This has been challenging as most school districts in the state have been 20
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absolutely crushed with the daily volume of COVID cases. Students and adults alike both wonder when the current strain of COVID, and subsequent strains, will end. For instance, in the Lindenhurst School District, three nurses were out for a week due to COVID-19 related reasons. Additionally, 15 to 20% of the school district’s students were in quarantine following the winter holiday break.
More Nurses Please Even before the pandemic, there was a need to hire more school nurses. The best way to create safe schools is to ensure strong bonds with students and adults in the building, including school nurses. Unfortunately, not every school building had, or presently has, a nurse. To better meet the needs of students, each school building should have at least one nurse or healthcare professional. One can imagine how
the COVID-19 pandemic further complicated matters for nurses. In addition to the default of not enough nurses, COVID-19 increased the strain on the nurses who were assigned to schools. It also meant that nurses were expected to do more with fewer resources. NYSNA knows that this is a longstanding issue. The union organized a back-to-school town hall with school nurses in Aug. 2021. The event was designed surface challenges and support healthcare workers in accessing what they need to provide consistent and compassionate care. NYSNA understands that while the challenges have not abated, the best way to meet the needs of healthcare workers is through collective bargaining and unwavering solidarity. The crisis is not over, but union members have the resources to withstand even the toughest of times. The quest for the public is to get them to a place where they see and advocate for all nurses and healthcare professionals, including those in school buildings.
Downstate Highlights Flushing Hospital Medical Center
internment costs for longtime member Jackie Wade.
NYSNA members at Flushing are proud to now have a full executive committee. A distressing fact post the COVID surge is that we have lost several RNs to retirement, including Maria Colella who retired in April 2021 after 31 years of service.
Northwell Health System
We recently signed off on our VEBA and are actively getting that retiree fund off the ground. This will ensure retired nurses are able to benefit from retiree health coverage. There have been multiple trustee meetings to get the final details finished, and the trustees participated in a VEBA training course. While COVID pandemic levels have decreased, nurses are still receiving premium pay for extra shifts. In other news, the Psych and CDU remain closed for use as COVID overflow units. The hospital recently launched a campaign to remodel the 5th floor. The plans don’t include enough space for nurses to have their own lockers and break rooms, and there will be a petition presented to the boss on this issue soon. The nurse practitioners at Flushing won an arbitration regarding their wages and nursing experience steps. This will result in thousands of dollars in increased funds for the NPs. The Flushing members were pleased to be able to fund the funeral and
Despite a larger operational base and generally stronger finances, COVID had a heavy impact on Northwell, the largest health system in New York State. In March NYSNA was able to negotiate Crisis Pay ($100-$150 for extra shifts worked) at all Northwell facilities. In April, a $2500 lump sum plus one week of PTO was negotiated at all facilities. In September, an agreement on vacation carryover was reached.
The Fight for a New Contract at Westchester Med Heats Up in 2021 At the start of the year, the Executive Committee entered Bargaining Training education with the Labor Education department to prepare for contract negotiations. The executive committee then selected the negotiation committee, alternates, and CAT leaders from the numerous departments, to ensure all units and shifts were well represented in the campaign. The Bargaining survey was released in April 2021 and over 600 nurses responded. The Negotiating Team had an all-day Contract Bargaining retreat session in July to strategically plan their contract campaign, table, and proposals. Utilizing the information and tools from the training, the team formulated a campaign plan and proposals that aligned with WMC members’ goals. We have successfully recruited 256 staffing captains at WMC to compliment our demand to finally build a comprehensive staffing grid with ratios at the major medical center. The committee plans on leveraging both the bargaining table and the state staffing law negotiations to achieve new staffing ratios.
Staffing and Crisis Pay Agreements Reached Across Long Island iFlushing Hospital RNsi
NYSNA nurses have fought for and won additional staffing and crisis pay
agreements for their members at both Northwell and Catholic Health facilities. As the pandemic continues to surge into 2022, Long Island members want to ensure their agreements to enhanced pay continue as over the duration of the staffing and COVID crisis. These pay agreements also help make the case for economic proposals on wages and retention, as most facilities on Long Island will be negotiating a new agreement in the next year and a half.
Mount Sinai System Staffing Fights Persist Across the Sinai System – West, Morningside, and Main Post COVID staffing has been erratic across the hospitals. Currently, there are major staffing issues in oncology (related to rapid increase of program and poor retention), Maternal Child Health (due to unpredictability of births), and a stepdown unit (poor recruiting), and Emergency Departments. Nurses on these units are involved in formulating a short and long-term plan. Three units (L&D, 11C Oncology and KCC4/5S) are currently at mediation for grid violations, where the nurses put a comprehensive settlement offer across the table and expect a response at the next meeting. A request was sent to meet and choose the tripartite panel neutral if the process fails. There have been numerous overtime incentives and recruitment incentives to improve the staffing levels on hard hit units. The results have been mixed with some levels of staffing being improved. The only true fix to this problem is the hiring of additional nurses.
New York Eye and Ear New York Eye and New York Eye (NYEE) members achieved a new contract in December 2021. The new agreement provides for great raises each year, continuing NYSNA Health coverage, and important job displacement language for NYEE nurses. Members recently Continued on page 22 2021: We are one
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Downstate Highlights Continued from page 21
learned that NYEE will be transitioning to numerous free standing surgical centers and that the inpatient facility will be closing within the next 3 years. As a result of this information, the new contract contains clear and transparent rights to ongoing job, wage, benefit, and seniority protections if NYEE nurses must transfer.
Montefiore Bronx Throughout 2021, Montefiore Bronx nurses advocated for safe staffing and patient care. Nurses in the Emergency Departments (Ed) from Moses, Weiler, CHAM and Westchester Sq launched an ED campaign to fight for improved working conditions (such as access to supplies, stretchers, and adequate space) and better staffing. This campaign has included the development of a leadership committee, a flyering and sticker action, formations of demands, meetings with upper level Montefiore leadership, and more. CHAM ED nurses led a fight to relocate a juvenile patient who was being held in the emergency department for months. Between advocating to management, joint actions, and reaching out to elected officials, nurses were able to move the patient to a more appropriate location and eventually to another facility where they could get the support they need. The climax of this 2021 staffing campaign was the December speak out in front of Moses, where nurses rallied for safe staffing at Montefiore. After a 9-month mediation process, Monte Bronx nurses finally settled their 2020 allocations of nurses. The initial 2020 allocation agreement led to a hospital-wide standardization of ratios including a 1:2 for the ICU, 1:3 for Stepdown, and 1:5 for Medsurg. After the final 2020 allocation, nurses were successful in allocating an additional 21 positions to the emergency department. NYSNA executive committee leaders have demanded allocations meetings for the Fall to resolve the 2021 allocations 22
2021: We are one
iMontefiore New rochelle, 12/9i
with the goal to improve staffing in the Eds, the CHAM hospital, and other units.
BronxCare In August, the BronxCare Midwives settled a three year contract extension which included a retro and a 15% wage increase in 2021, 5% in 2022, and 6% in 2023. This brought the midwives up to equitable wages with the BronxCare Nurse Practitioners and will hopefully lead to better recruitment and retention in the department.
Montefiore New Rochelle Nurses Win New Contract after Historic Fight When NYSNA nurses at Monte New Rochelle Hospital held their first bargaining session in November 2018, they could not have imagined the journey the next three years would bring. Throughout 2018 and 2019, they attempted to reach a fair deal, but faced an employer with little interest in meeting halfway on the issues that were so essential to their families and their patients; safe staffing, a retiree health plan, and competitive wages so their community hospital could attract and retain nurses. The bargaining committee worked for over 10 months to try and reach an agreement until March of 2020 when the first COVID patient at any NYSNA hospital was admitted in New Rochelle. From there, the pandemic emergency and PPE crisis ballooned across the
state. Nurses at New Rochelle lost a beloved colleague from the OR who was floated into a COVID unit to care for patients without adequate PPE. During the summer and fall of 2020, the nurses worked hard to reach a fair deal, but Montefiore dug in their heels, refusing to entertain a reasonable retiree health package or any staffing improvements. On December 1 and 2, the nurses went on a two-day strike. Every NYSNA nurse respected the picket line. The nurses danced, chanted, and sang on the picket line. Kathy Santioemma, now a press expert, coined the rallying cry, “scrubs vs. suit!” The strike was covered in the New York Times and in media outlets as far away as North Korea and Germany. The MNR strike, along with the strike in Albany Med, brought the critical staffing crisis to the forefront, jumpstarting a larger conversation that resulted in the passage of the New York State Safe Staffing Bill in 2021. The nurses at New Rochelle continued to fight for a fair contract. In May 2021, they joined with Mount Vernon nurses to present the NYSNA-community-faith coalition white paper, “Unequal Empire” that illustrated how Montefiore’s growth in the region has served to reinforce healthcare inequality. Finally, over three years after their first bargaining session, New Rochelle
nurses settled their contract in December 2021. They won over 15% wage increases over a 5-year agreement (3% every year), established a new VEBA retiree health plan, improved the tuition reimbursement, restrictions on floating, and so much more. Nurses at the hospital are now eager to pivot to fighting for their staffing plan alongside healthcare workers across the state, and helping their Mount Vernon colleagues reach the same contract deal.
Recently at the bargaining table, St John’s management confirmed that the hospital will be absorbing St Joe’s and afterwards will officially become part of Montefiore. Nurses are concerned this absorption may also include a reduction of services at St Joe’s. In response, nurses have a launched a community organization mapping project with PCO to identify the organic relationships that members may be able to use to create a coalition in support of saving services for the hospitals. After almost a month of bargaining, nurses at Nyack hospital have successfully negotiated an incentive program for nurses to work extra shifts! Nurses hope this agreement will incentivize nurses to help as the hospital faces flu season and a challenge in retention.
New York Presbyterian System NYP Hudson Valley Hospital
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Coalition to Save mount Vernon Fights On In early September 2021, nurses at Mount Vernon, along with the coalition to Save and Transform Mount Vernon Hospital, partnered with the Poor People’s Campaign and the People’s Nonviolent Medicaid Army to take to the streets! Community activists, faith leaders, and nurses rallied in front of the hospital then marched downtown, demanding funding for Mt Vernon Hospital and all hospitals that serve Medicaid/Medicare and uninsured populations.
St John’s Riverside, St Joe’s, and Nyack Campaigns St John’s CATs have taken action for their contract! Most nurses signed an oversize bargaining platform and delivered it to the director of nursing. When SJRH nurse leaders realized many of their colleagues were clocking out and then continuing to work, they launched a campaign to educate their colleagues on demanding their time and have filed a grievance to recoup unpaid wages.
NYP Hudson Valley Hospital nurses continue to fight for their first contract. In the summer of 2021, NYSNA RNs at NYP HVH won a huge victory against NYP’s union busting tactics and voted 2 to 1 to continue to fight for their first contract after joining NYSNA in 2018. The RN negotiating committee is stronger than ever and united to win a fair contract. The biggest issues at bargaining are staffing, benefits, and union power. The committee has successfully secured weekly bargaining dates and a repeated commitment from the employer to finish this round of bargaining. Nurses are taking weekly action in the community and in front of the hospital to put pressure on NYP to invest in quality care at HVH. On Sept. 30, we held a successful speak out and rally in front of the hospital. Additionally, we have been spreading the word in the local Peekskill community, and will be taking our fight to the NYP corporate board of directors in mid-October. The campaign reached a climax in November 2021 when we held informational pickets in front of the hospital, with hundreds of nurses and supporters show up in solidarity.
Fight to Reopen Psychiatric Units Continues Since the beginning of the pandemic
our two inpatient psychiatric units with 50 acute care beds have been closed. The initial closure of Methodist and Allen Psych units was under the guise of complying with Governor Cuomo’s mandate that hospitals have extra bed capacity for ongoing COVID surges. We have yet to see these units reopened and our nurses continue to be displaced to other units in the hospital. Methodist nurses have worked locally with mental health advocates, homeless advocacy organizations, and other community organizing groups in Brooklyn to raise awareness and fight for these needed services. NYP Brooklyn Methodist nurses have also joined together with our colleagues at NYP Allen, nurses from Long Island, and in Kingston experiencing the closure of psychiatric services. We are united and committed to this ongoing fight for access to inpatient psychiatric services in our local community. The Gracie Square nurses continue to struggle with understaffing, as they are now the last line of care for psychiatric patients in the NYP system.
Staffing Crisis at Columbia NYP Columbia campus nurses are experiencing the worst staffing crisis in decades and nurses throughout our clinics, the adult hospitals, and the children’s hospital are uniting to push administrators to do everything they can to improve staffing. While the hospital says they’ve already tried everything, we know that isn’t true. We believe the hospital has more nurses who would be willing to work per diem who have left for other jobs or retirement and more nurses who would work overtime if offered bonus or incentive pay. Nurses feel undervalued and overworked. NYP is losing staff to travel jobs and other systems in NYC that are offering better pay. We continue to bring units impacted by the staffing crisis forward to meet with management and raise concerns. This staffing campaign reached a climax in November 2022 when over 250 Columbia nurses spoke out and rallied in front of the hospital. There was massive media coverage of the event and the nurses’ stories really connected with the community. 2021: We are one
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Brooklyn, Staten Island Highlights Brooklyn Hospital Staffing remains something of a challenge at TBHC, especially in maternal child health. We scheduled a Unit Based Council meeting in Critical Care to address issues there related to staffing, and new RN orientation. Focusing on the Critical Care units at Brooklyn Hospital is critical, given the staffing captain reports from the members. According to NYSNA’s data, Brooklyn’s ICU is one of the worst staffed critical care units in NYC. Orientation of new RNs in critical care units is also a major problem, as the current program is woefully inadequate. Critical care RNs recently signed a petition demanding a meeting with management to discuss orientation for new RNs in Critical Care units.
RUMC The contractual staffing ratios are being implemented at RUMC, though there is more work to be done. The 1:6 ratio for Med-Surg units will be effective January 1, 2022 for SLB 5 and SLB 4, with the ratio for SLB 6 effective the end of February. Another important ratio implementation project will be in the Emergency Room, effective the end of April. We have several active class action grievances related to staffing, floating, non-nursing functions, and breaks. Beyond these disputes, the number one problem with the ratio implementation project is that there are simply not enough nurses working at RUMC. They must do more to hire and retain the nurses to meet our new contractual standards.
Maimonides The staffing grids for 2020 and 2021 have been negotiated, updated, and signed off on by NYSNA and management. This is especially important in terms of staffing law implementation, as the MMC grid is one of the few with wall-to-wall ratios for RNs and quality staffing guidelines for service, tech, and clerical titles. MMC started the hiring process to 24
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meet the new ratio levels as well as replace positions due to resignation and retirement. To date, there are 60 newly hired RNs and 89 positions posted, but MMC needs to do more to keep up with the attrition of nurses. The newly elected committee will continue to focus on tracking staffing and enforcing the new ratios.
KJMC Nurses Battle for Geriatric Psych Unit The Kingsbrook Jewish Adult Psychiatric Unit is critically important as a geriatric psychiatric facility, drawing patients from nursing homes in Queens and the Rockaways. The potential closing comes in the aftermath of a shocking number of nursing home patient deaths in New York City during the ongoing pandemic. Black and brown communities would be adversely affected by the closing, as well. Fully 65% of psychiatric discharges at Kingsbrook Jewish in 2018-2019 were among patients of color. The closing exacerbates already sharp disparities in care prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic for Black and brown New Yorkers. Overall, inpatient mental health services have precipitously declined in metro NYC during the pandemic, with closures at New York Presbyterian-Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, to NYP’s Allen Hospital on Washington Heights, and at Syosset Hospital/Northwell Health on Long Island. The burden of closings often falls on safety net hospitals. But when safety nets like Kingsbrook Jewish close inpatient units, patients most in need are too often stranded without care. The Geriatric Psych unit has been there for over 20 years. This unit was a core part of the One Brooklyn Health project, unlike the other units that were recently reduced as part of the plan. One Brooklyn clearly promised this unit to the community and they’re going back on their word. The solution to this problem is simple. One Brooklyn claims they cannot keep the unit open due to five Psychiatrists
recently leaving. NYSNA has called on One Brooklyn, the State of New York, the City of New York, and the Brooklyn delegation of elected officials to join NYSNA in an emergency search and hiring program to replace these 5 psychiatrists. At this time, the unit is not closed and not decertified, but there are no patients and the nurses are reassigned. The fight to preserve geriatric psych care will continue in 2022.
iSIUH RNsi
New Contract Reached at Staten Island University Hospital in 2021 A new contract was reached at SIUH, establishing trends across the city’s private sector facilities and the sister Northwell facilities. Highlights included: l 3% per year in across-the-board
wages, plus retro l Continuation of the retiree health
program, which provides free health insurance for the nurse and her dependents from 60-65, and covered costs at Northwell facilities while on Medicare. l Major staffing improvements and an
updated grid l NYSNA Plan A Health and the NYSNA
Pension l Pandemic Preparedness Language-
the 1st COVID language codified into a CBA l Other major improvements
In 2021, SPAN Continued to Balance Nurses’ and Patients’ Needs The New York State Nurses Association’s (NYSNA) Statewide Peer Assistance for Nurses (SPAN) Program assists nurses who are affected by alcohol- or drug-related problems. The program offers expertise and outreach in the areas of education, identification, ongoing support and advocacy, and linkages with resources. SPAN educates nurses, employers, nursing school faculties and students, treatment providers and others about prevention, early intervention and workplace options. SPAN’s mission is to be the resource for New York state nurses affected by substance use disorders while fostering public safety through outreach and education. SPAN operates in accordance with Chapter 290 of the laws of 2000, which
mentoring and focused peer support groups. Nurses may receive advocacy with regulatory or other agencies, depending on their recovery efforts and progress.
took effect in April 2001. The program uses the strategies of direct education and literature distribution aimed at prevention and early identification and intervention of alcohol and other drugrelated problems in nurses.
Ongoing Support SPAN offers individual needs assessments, referrals to professional resources and troubleshooting for immediate concerns. SPAN offers participating nurses access to ongoing recovery support through individual
Throughout 2021, SPAN staff members worked to fulfill deliverables of the work plan and heighten awareness and understanding of drug-related concerns for nurses and the healthcare community. The team was guided by the belief that every nurse deserves access to treatment, help in preserving their license and employment status, and ongoing support throughout the recovery process. The SPAN staff members were also intentional about creating a balance between nurses’ needs and those of patients, who are entitled to skilled and compassionate care.
Bargaining Conference Lays Groundwork for 2022 On December 6, 2021, NYSNA hosted a bargaining conference to support members as they gear up for bargaining in 2022 and 2023. Members from 36 local bargaining units, and 80 facilities, participated in the conference. Members united across systems and regions to begin planning their respective bargaining campaigns. “This was an opportunity for workers to learn best practices and strategies to improve the likelihood of getting a fair contract,” said NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN. “No one fights alone. It was important for us to gather members across regions and systems for this pivotal training.” The day was filled with bargaining training courses, regional breakouts, and LBU-specific strategic planning meetings. Members discussed common
law and their contractual staffing, and campaign strategies to defend the rights of healthcare professionals. Following the bargaining retreat, field staff will check in with bargaining committees and further plan for impending contract negotiations.
Strategizing Together “It is so important for members in all parts of the state to come together, strategize and learn from one another,” said Hagans. “We will no doubt face challenges in bargaining, but nurses and healthcare professionals are a force to be reckoned with when we are educated, empowered and united.” Members vote on a contract with Albany Medical Center, July 1, 2021.
standards, issues they face in the hospitals, implementation of the staffing
“This was a great program,” said NYSNA First Vice President Judith Cutchin, RN, MSN. “We are grateful to the NYSNA staff who put this together and to the members who attended.” 2021: We are one
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iseal the deal action, NYC, April 19, 2021i
Last Year, NYSNA Members Continued to Organize to Address the Climate Crisis The climate emergency is an existential crisis threatening all of humanity. As healthcare workers, NYSNA members understand the unique challenge facing the nation. They are at the bedside when patients present with respiratory challenges due to pollution or birth defects and infertility linked to fracking. Nurses and other healthcare workers appreciate that there is an ecosystem that supports quality care, and the climate crisis disrupts that system. As such, NYSNA members have been on the frontlines pushing for more aggressive action to save the environment. In 2021, NYSNA participated in rallies, engaged with legislators and even traveled to Scotland to participate in the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).
NYSNA Attends COP26 Most recently, NYSNA board member Nella Pineda-Marcon, RN, joined the Trade Union for Energy and Democracy in Glasgow, Scotland, for COP26. While in the UK, she joined a global march for action on the climate and also spoke on a panel about the climate crisis and healthcare. During the “Working Class Struggles Against Climate Change: Union Stories From the Frontline” panel, 26
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Pineda-Marcon detailed her experience as well as that of other nurses working to help patients while the climate crisis rages. She and other trade unionist panelists detailed the struggles they have faced under a neoliberal model of climate change. They also highlighted determinative pathways forward.
Privatized Energy is Failing “As a healthcare worker, I spoke about challenges in privatized healthcare for workers and patients during the pandemic as well as the crisis of climate change. I focused on how the privatized energy system is failing at the expense of workers, local economies/ communities and the environment,” Pineda-Marcon said. “During the Glasgow Global Day of Action march, I met several union nurses from Europe and was amazed by their advocacy on the climate crisis.” COP26, held Oct. 31 through Nov. 13, was a weeklong series of events to boost nations’ ambitions to address climate change. The hope is to inspire nations and corporations to decarbonize public services with the hopes of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050, which would help keep 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach.
Pineda-Marcon’s participation marked the second time an NYSNA member has attended a COP convening; Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, RN, represented the union and other American nurses at COP21. At that convening, Gonzalez said, “When communities have control over the production and distribution of clean energy, this is environmental justice. When the disproportionate harm perpetrated upon those most vulnerable but least responsible for Climate Chaos is mitigated and rectified in REAL ways; when workers whose livelihood is dependent upon the fossil fuel industry are transitioned to the multitude of safe and lucrative jobs that can be created with sustainable energy practices; when families who acquiesce to leasing lands to destructive energy agencies or who must utilize toxic energy byproducts in order to survive are instead supported in new and creative ways, we’ll achieve social justice.” “We know that climate change is a public health crisis,” Pineda-Marcon said. “It is imperative there is a public ownership alternative to achieve a just transition. There is no question that nurses are a critical piece in helping with mitigation, adaptation and policy surround global climate change. NYSNA has demonstrated this year and in years past that we are in this fight to stay.”
NYC Health and Hospitals Nurses Win Enhanced OT Rates and Program in 2021 By Eric Smith, Field Director The Overtime Pilot Program was created to assist with shift coverage issues resulting from the Department of Health vaccination order and the serious staffing shortage across New York. It was designed to promote voluntary overtime work throughout NYC H+H facilities by providing incentives such as a higher OT rate and quicker payment. It applies to any full shift of OT worked, whether it is to cover for an unvaccinated nurse, regular sick calls or leaves, vacancies in the department, compliance with our staffing ratios or any other staffing needs. Overtime worked in the Pilot Program is being paid at a flat rate of $110 per hour (roughly 2 to 2.6 times the regular Staff Nurse rate), while “Regular” Overtime is usually paid at 1.5 times the employee’s hourly pay rate. In addition, staff who work OT under the Pilot Program will be paid on a weekly basis with a separate OT check. This is a huge win for OT payment for NYSNA H+H nurses, who previously had to wait up to 8-9 weeks for regular OT payment. Nurses now receive the full enhanced OT rate and are paid on a weekly basis for those shifts.
do the same level of work as regular staff. This Pilot Program shows how that can be accomplished. We intend to use this program as the basis for a permanent fix to the OT problem at NYC H+H. NYSNA nurses must organize and use this moment to force NYC H+H to solve the OT and pay issue permanently and cut back on wasteful agency staffing. The Pilot Program shows that NYC H+H and the city can address nurses’ concerns about staffing and pay disparities in the public sector as well. The private sector employers (particularly the big university based medical centers) are funded in a different way than NYC H+H — they get lots of revenue from higher income and
privately insured patients and generate millions in profits. Poor communities of color are constantly underfunded by Medicaid and by private insurers, and underfunding impacts staffing, equipment, PPE, facilities, and a host of other things. Our struggle must include equalizing funding or there will never be equal pay or outcomes for our patients. This program proves there is a way to enhance our pay and improve staffing if the money is allocated appropriately. The program has now been extended multiple times by NYSNA and the City. NYSNA plans to make these OT payment structures a permanent part of the contract, and make clear that additional pay can be found and paid on time by the City for the H+H Covid Hero nurses.
Why this helps Nurses and Patients in the Short and Long Term First, the program puts more money in the pockets of nurses who have worked tirelessly during the pandemic. But more importantly, the Pilot Program demonstrates that the city can pay overtime without members meeting the 160 hours outlined in the citywide contract, and that the city can pay a premium rate quickly. Management can never again claim that they can’t do those things. Our contract required NYC H+H and NYSNA to discuss ways to speed the payment of OT and reduce the system’s reliance on travel and agency nurses who get paid a lot of money and don’t 2021: We are one
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NYSNA Members Celebrate and Strategize at the 2021 TOGETHER WE RISE! Convention When NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, kicked off the 2021 convention, she affirmed the inner rumblings of members and noted, “There’s no question that we are in a pivotal moment for our union and for our profession. Words cannot begin to describe what we’ve been through during the pandemic. But every day, on every shift, we’ve been there for our patients and for that we should be proud. Together, we over 150,000 New Yorkers. The 2021 NYSNA Convention brought together nearly 300 members to New York City’s Sheraton hotel while hundreds more joined a virtual viewing of the event. Rank-and-file delegates and LBU leaders acknowledge the challenge of serving during a pandemic, while highlighting their herculean efforts to raise COVID safety measures, negotiate strong contracts and receive recognition pay. President Hagans, RN, set an immediate goal: “What each of us needs to do between now and January is to ensure the landmark staffing law we won last summer actually translates into more RNs and other caregivers at the bedside.” NYSNA Executive Director Pat Kane, RN, enumerated the campaigns carried out in the course of the year from passage of safe staffing law to contract campaigns, to fights to save public hospitals, to campaigns to protect
iconvention 2021i
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Also attending Convention were two nurse delegates from Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, Vivienne Phillips, RN, and Salina Flores, RN. They have helped make the geriatric psychiatric care unit a highly-regarded resource for the elderly. Many nursing homes send patients for care to KJMC. But recently its closure was announced. “This is very painful for us,” said Nurse Flores. “My heart is aching.” “They fixed a wheel that wasn’t broken!” exclaimed Nurse Phillips, who chairs the executive committee at KJMC. “I feel for the patients.” NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, addresses nurses at the 2021 Convention.
mental healthcare services. “Thanks to your organizing,” she said, “the public is scrutinizing our hospitals and nursing homes like never before.”
Past the breaking point “It’s been challenging at times, even overwhelming,” said Board Member Michelle Jones, RN, and co-chair, Flushing Hospital Medical Center’s LBU. NYSNA Board Member Steve Bailey, RN, who works at Erie County Medical Center Terrace View Long Term Care, spoke about the Emergency Department at ECMC with patients “lined up down the hallway. In many of our hospitals, the COVID-19 pandemic brought staffing levels past the breaking point.”
Care for every New Yorker For Marva Wade, RN, retired nurse delegate, whose tireless work on behalf of the New York Health Act and participation in the Labor Campaign for Single Payer has been a great inspiration. “COVID-19 demonstrates the absolute need to provide care for every New Yorker,” she said. “Crowded households living on low wage jobs translated into death,” she said.
Political and Policy Platform The First Resolution, presented by Board Member Sonia Lawrence, RN, Lincoln Hospital, on NYSNA’s Political and Policy Platform, 20212022, was passed overwhelmingly by delegates present and online. It is a sweeping and compelling statement that acknowledges healthcare as a human right, references the social determinants of healthcare, calls for protection of nurses’ scope of practice and implementation of minimum nurse-to-patient staffing ratios in all patient care settings. The Resolution opposes expansion of forprofit healthcare — “patients must take precedence over profit.” “We’ve got momentum — and leverage — that we’ve never had,” said Executive Director Pat Kane, RN. “Our new staffing law is just the beginning of what we can accomplish if we stand up and stick together.”
The Legislature Must Address the Disparity in Pay Between Travel Nurses and Staff Nurses By Pat Kane, RN In 2021, NYSNA nurses advocated for themselves and their patients by warning hospital administrators of the perils of relying on travel nurses. First, they note that hiring nurses who live in the communities where they work offers a level of proximity that is comforting and beneficial for patients and healthcare workers alike. Next, paying travel nurses significantly more than staff nurses is demoralizing and may spur more resignations. Finally, the ballooning costs of travel nurses will ultimately catch up with employers, potentially placing them on rocky financial footing. As of December 2020, there were more than 25,000 travel nurses working during the pandemic. Certainly, travel nursing existed before the pandemic, but hospital administrators greatly increased their presence during the COVID-19 health crisis. While some may note that travel nurses stepped in when staff nurses were unable to do so, but this framing is a recasting of facts. Staff nurses love their communities and patients, and have done their best to serve them, even placing their and their family’s lives in jeopardy to do so. The truth is that systems have intentionally engaged travel nurses as a way to break the union. This is not about administrators being forced into hiring travel nurses; this has been a strategic effort. Moreover, anyone who believes in equal pay for equal work should not accept the exorbitant fees paid to travel nurses. The gap between what staff nurses earn and what agency nurses earn is great. Hospitals often offer major incentives to the later. For instance, days after Northwell Health in Staten Island settled a new collective bargaining agreement with nurses employed with them, the
imontefiore new rochellei
NYSNA members rally for safe staffing.
hospital began offering agency nurses $150 per hour. In some New York City hospitals, agency nurses were offered to be paid 12 hours for eight hours worked and 16 hours for 12 hours worked. Administrators cannot hail nurses as heroes one moment and then underpay them in another moment.
A Band-Aid Sonia Lawrence, a NYSNA board member and critical care nurse at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, explained it this way: “Travel nurses are a temporary solution to an ongoing problem. Travel nurses are not held to the same standards as H+H nurses. Yet they earn much more for less work. At the end of the day, accountability rests with us; H+H nurses. Travel nurses are
not obligated to understand our patients and the communities we serve. We are.” While administrators may point to a nursing shortage or the COVID-19 pandemic as the rationale for relying on contract nurses, this only tells part of the story. With an aging workforce, hospital systems could have forecasted and addressed shortages. But too many of them rely on a “just in time” ethos, promising to provide what is needed just in time. But “just in time” is too late during times of crisis. If hospital systems want to address nursing shortages, they should start by hiring more staff, paying them a fair wage, investing in mental healthcare for employees, and addressing COVID-19 related trauma. 2021: We are one
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Agency Fee Objection Policy NYSNA’s agency fee objection policy is below: To become an objector, a non-member who is represented by NYSNA shall notify NYSNA. Such objection must be in writing, signed by the nonmember and mailed to the NYSNA Membership Department at 131 West 33rd Street, New York, NY 10001. The objection must be postmarked within 30 days of resignation of membership, or, if the non-member did not resign within the prior twelve months, in the month of February. A non- member employee who initially becomes a bargaining unit member after February in a particular year and who desires to be an objector must submit written signed notification to the NYSNA Membership Department within thirty (30) days after the employee has become subject to union security obligations and been provided with notice of these procedures. Public sector employees may revoke their dues deduction authorization and resign membership in accordance with applicable law and the terms of any signed dues deduction authorization card. Agency fees payable by non- member objectors will be based on NYSNA’s expenditures for those activities undertaken by NYSNA to advance the employment-related interests of the employees the Union represents. These “chargeable” expenditures include: preparation for and negotiation of collective bargaining agreements; contract administration including investigating and processing grievances; organizing within the same competitive market as bargaining unit members; meetings, including meetings of governing bodies, conferences, administrative, arbitral and court proceedings, and pertinent investigation and research in connection with work-related subjects and issues; handling work-related problems of employees; communications with community organizations, civic groups, government agencies, and the media regarding NYSNA’s position on workrelated matters; maintaining membership; employee group programs; providing legal, economic, and technical expertise on behalf of employees in all work-related matters; education and training of members, officers, and staff to better perform chargeable activities or otherwise related to chargeable activities; and overhead and administration related to or reflective of chargeable activities. Nonchargeable expenses are those of a political nature. The term “political” is defined as support for or against a candidate for political office of any level of government as well as support for or against certain positions that NYSNA may take, which are not work-related. The following are examples of expenditures classified as arguably non-chargeable: lobbying, electoral or political activities outside of areas related to collective bargaining; litigation expenses to the extent related to non-chargeable activities; and member-only activities. NYSNA shall retain an independent auditor who shall submit an annual report verifying the break- down of chargeable and arguably non-chargeable expenditures and calculating the percentage of arguably non-chargeable
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to chargeable expenditures (the “fair share percentage”). The auditor’s report shall be completed promptly after the conclusion of the fiscal year. The report shall be provided to any non-member who submits an objection. Non-members and new employees will be given the foregoing explanation of the basis of the reduced agency fees charged to them. That explanation will include a list of the major categories of expenditures deemed to be “chargeable” and those deemed to be arguably “non-chargeable.” The fees paid by non-member objectors shall be handled as follows. Newly-Hired Non-Members. NYSNA will place or maintain in an interest-bearing escrow an amount at least equal to the agency shop fees remitted by newly-hired non-member(s) (or by an employer on behalf of newly-hired non-member employee(s)). A newly hired non- member employee will be mailed a copy of this Policy. The non-member will have the later of the date he/she is subject to the obligations of the union security clause or thirty (30) days from the date of mailing to remain a non-member, object or to join NYSNA. If the non-member employee joins NYSNA, then the full agency shop fee remitted on his/her behalf is credited from the escrow account to the Association’s general treasury. If the newly-hired employee does not join NYSNA and does not file an objection within the thirty-day objection period, then the escrowed amount will be credited to NYSNA’s general treasury. If the newly-hired non-member timely objects, an amount at least equal to the fair share percentage shall continue to be escrowed pending resolution of a challenge (if any) by the objector. Once the challenge is resolved, the amount of the non-chargeable balance plus interest will be returned to the nonmember from the escrow. Resignation. In the case of an employee who resigns NYSNA membership (or who continues in non-member status) and who timely objects, NYSNA will place or maintain in an interestbearing escrow account an amount at least equal to the fair share percentage of the agency fees received from the non- member or employer on behalf of the non-member and the non-member is permitted to challenge the fair share fee percentage during the thirty (30) day period noted in the annual publication of the Association’s objection procedure. If the non-member files a timely challenge, amounts at least equal to agency fees collected from the non-member employee or employer will continue to be placed or maintained in the escrow account pending resolution of any challenge. If the nonmember does not file a challenge within the challenge period, then the fair share fee amount will be credited to NYSNA’s general treasury and the balance (if any) paid to the non-member from the escrow plus interest. A non-member objector may file a written challenge to the calculation of the fair share fee and percentage, challenging any of the items of the expenditures as chargeable. Such a challenge must be submitted within thirty (30) days of the
date the non-member objector is provided an explanation of the basis of the reduced agency fees and initiation fees charge to them. Such a challenge must be in writing, signed by the nonmember and sent to the NYSNA Membership Department at 131 West 33rd Street, New York, NY 10001. If NYSNA does not agree with the challenge either as to the expenditures or as to the percentage of amount of dues to be paid, it will notify the timely objecting non-member in writing that he/ she has thirty (30) days thereafter to request arbitration; and if he/ she fails to do so within that time, then such non-member waives the right to arbitration. A request for arbitration must be in writing, signed by the person filing the request, and sent to the NYSNA Executive Director, 131 West 33rd Street, New York, NY 10001. If more than one challenging non-member objector timely requests arbitration, NYSNA will consolidate all such challenges into one annual arbitration proceeding. NYSNA will provide an impartial arbitration proceeding through the American Arbitration Association and will pay the administrative costs and the arbitrator’s fees. The challenger will be responsible for any fees associated with his or her representation at the hearing. NYSNA will administer this policy in a manner that is consistent with the objectives of the policy and the applicable federal and state law to provide a fair and equitable procedure regarding nonmember employees. NYSNA reserves the right to change the policy set forth above.
Beck Notification If you are represented for collective bargaining by NYSNA, you have the right to be or stay a nonmember and pay an agency fee equivalent to dues. If you choose to be a non-member, you are entitled to object to paying for activities unrelated to the association’s duties as a bargaining agent and to obtain a reduction in fees for such activities. If you submit a timely objection, the agency fee that you will be required to pay will include costs incurred by the union for expenditures related to collective bargaining, contract administration, grievances and arbitration, and other matters affecting wages, hours, and other conditions of employment. In 2021, the most recent calendar year for which a calculation was done, the agency fee charged to timely non-member objectors represented 83.53% of the dues amount for that year. If you choose to be a nonmember, please be aware that you will deny yourself the opportunity to exercise the full rights and benefits of union membership. Full membership rights include, among other things, the rights to: (1) vote on acceptance or rejection of proposed contracts covering your wages and working conditions, thereby ensuring your input on issues central to your working life; (2) participate in development of contract proposals; and (3) vote for your union officers. A copy of NYSNA’s agency fee objection policy is published annually in the January edition of the New York Nurse. You can also request a copy from NYSNA’s Membership Department.
The memory of those we lost will never fade.
New York State Nurses Association 131 West 33rd Street, 4th Floor New York, NY 10001
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