New York
nurse capital Region/noRth countRy edition | APRIL 2017
the official publication of the new york state nurses association
Meeting healthcare’s challenges, p. 13 Nurse leaders from Ellis Medicine, Bellevue Woman's Center, and Samaritan Medical Center attended the March 28 NYSNA RN Advocacy Training.
Right to Work: Wrong for nurses, pp. 7-10
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NEW YORK NURSE/CAP-NORTH APRIL 2017
Bread and roses
O By Judy SheridanGonzalez, RN NYSNA President
n January 12, 1912, at several textile mills in Lowell Massachusetts, one of the most important events in the history of the Labor Movement in the United States took place. Twenty-three thousand workers, largely composed of women and children, in response to a sudden cut in pay, went on strike. The AFL leaders at the time, as well as the bosses, had thought that the workers could never organize. These women spoke different languages and the bosses worked hard to keep them isolated from one another and divided by ethnicity, language and culture. Outspoken workers were threatened and even brutally removed. Living conditions were horrendous, workdays were long and nutrition was severely lacking. Even the water inside the mills was contaminated. Average life expectancy for mill workers was 22 years less than the average resident. The Singing Strike
Advocating for patients. Advancing the profession.SM BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, RN, MSN, FNP First Vice President Marva Wade, RN Second Vice President Anthony Ciampa, RN Secretary Anne Bové, RN, MSN, BC, CCRN, ANP Treasurer Patricia Kane, RN Directors at Large Kevin Donovan, RN Jacqueline B. Gilbert, RN Nancy Hagans, RN Tracey Kavanagh, RN, BSN Lilia V. Marquez, RN Sean Petty, RN, CPEN Nella Pineda-Marcon, RN, BC Karine M. Raymond, RN, MSN Verginia Stewart, RN Mary Ellen Warden, RN Regional Directors Southeastern Yasmine Beausejour, RN Southern Seth B. Dressekie, RN, MSN, NP Central Ethel Mathis, RN Lower Hudson/NJ Jayne Cammisa, RN, BSN Western Sarah Annabelle Chmura, RN Eastern Martha Wilcox, RN Executive Editor Jill Furillo, RN, BSN, PHN Executive Director Editorial offices located at: 131 W 33rd St., New York, NY 10001 Phone: 212-785-0157 x 159 Email: communications@nysna.org Website: www.nysna.org Subscription rate: $33 per year ISSN (Print) 1934-7588/ISSN (Online) 1934-7596 ©2017, All rights reserved
These women suddenly found their voice. Breaking from tradition, their participation grew along with their commitment, and they became major strategists and strike leaders. With the handicap of illiteracy among a number of the strikers, song became the language of resistance. Meetings opened and closed with political songs and their beautiful voices echoed in the streets during marches and pickets, as the strike became known as “The Singing Strike.” After nearly 10 weeks, withstanding lack of food, heating fuel, attacks by state militias and hired mercenaries, the strike ended with a number of key demands won: a raise in pay, overtime pay, and a fairer system for calculating wages. The Singing Strike generated public support that pressured Congress to hold hearings on child labor and living and working conditions. Ultimately, legislation was passed that addressed a number of these issues. It also inspired workers across the nation to resist complacency in the face of oppression. The mill owners’ defense of their repressive regimes centered on the
to successful contract campaigns, unit-wide protests and job actions? Don’t we understand the importance of building a movement to move legislators to action? And haven’t we found that our success at the job is inherently linked to the support we receive — and give — to our community? Never going back
Lawrence Woolen mill workers. (Lawrence History Center)
rationale that improving conditions would put their businesses at a “competitive disadvantage.” They threatened to move to other states and shut the mills if states imposed regulations favorable to the workers. The more things change, the more they stay the same…
While much has changed in 100 years—including the legalization of unions and multiple laws protecting workers’ rights, banning child labor, and addressing unsafe workplaces and housing— the tactics of the bosses and the strategies of successful struggles remain the same. How many times do we hear: if our hospital improves salaries, benefits or staffing they will no longer be competitive in the cutthroat health care marketplace? How often are we divided by race, ethnicity, geography, age and gender? How safe is our drinking water, thanks to corporate dumping and inadequate infrastructure? How vicious is workplace bullying and repression, even though it may be more subtle and psychological? Haven’t we learned as well that unity, planning, commitment and courage are the necessary ingredients
Don’t be fooled by the rhetoric of a number of our elected officials. There are attempts and actions right now that will bring us back to those days of 100 years ago. So-called “Right to Work” legislation has the ability to potentially destroy Unions as we know them. Environmental protection reversals will make the workplace and our communities unsafe. Laws designed to divide us as a nation by race, religion and ethnicity will disperse our movement for quality care and workplace rights and aim to render us ineffectual. The not-so-subtle attacks against women’s health, in fact, target females specifically in order to further divide us. Throughout the history of this nation, the action and movement of masses of people — just regular folks like us — have been the backbone of social progress. The reason this article describing the dynamics of the Singing Strike may be news to many of you is an example of how effectively those in power rob us of our history. History is written by kings and queens, generals and conquerors, and those in power. But, in the long run, history is shaped by the rest of us — our actions, our deeds, our bravery, our solidarity and our voices. Maybe it’s time to raise ours a little bit louder.
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Win for rural and urban safety nets
A
s 2016 drew to a close, the Enhanced Safety Net Hospital Act — having passed both the Assembly and Senate unanimously — hit the wall. With uncertainties emanating from impending changes in Washington, Governor Cuomo decided to take no action. The Act died. But it was swiftly rejuvenated this year in the form of $40 million budgeted for safety net hospitals. Progress was made for “true” safety nets: public hospitals and other facilities caring for the highest numbers of
Medicaid and uninsured patients, and isolated rural hospitals deemed “critical access hospitals.” Each category, urban safety nets and rural critical access hospitals, received $20 million allocations in the state budget. The possibility of federal matching exists, which would bring funding to $80 million. Bringing these important definitions into the legal venacular is also a victory, as these categories of safety net care are further established in our state’s healthcare system.
“
The funds express the need for greater fairness and equality in our healthcare system.” Jenn Brinkworth, RN
Jennifer Brinkworth, RN, Erie County Medical Center
“T
Joan Bruce, RN, Bronx Lebanon Hospital
“Y
here is another victory in this year's budget for underserved and vulnerable New Yorkers: a second $20 million for federally-designated rural “critical access hospitals.” Too often, rural hospitals are the only source of care for people in our state and without them there is no care. The funds are a concrete recognition of the absolute necessity of critical access hospitals. The funds express the need for greater fairness and equality in our healthcare system. This was a real coalition victory and NYSNA worked hard to see it through. I am very proud of our efforts. There is even more to celebrate. It is possible that these payments could be federally matched, which would double the funding for urban safety nets and rural critical access hospitals to a total of $80 million. Also, and important, the definition of terms we use for “enhanced safety net hospitals” is now part of the state’s health law. Great work NYSNA and great work on the part of our allies and coalition partners!
ou don’t have to work in the South Bronx to be concerned about funding for safety net hospitals. Because in many cities in our state, Medicaid funding is not fairly allocated to the hospitals providing care for Medicaid patients and the uninsured. That is wrong. Together with many allies — unions of doctors, residents and interns, District 37 AFSCME, the Committee for the Public Health System, the Save Our Safety Net Campaign, the New York Immigration Coalition and others, a movement dedicated to serving the underserved worked towards passage of the Enhanced Safety Net Hospital bill last year. Well, through these efforts, we won an important victory in this year’s budget process: $20 million for enhanced safety-net hospitals with the highest numbers of Medicaid and uninsured. It is a significant victory, both in terms of actual dollars and symbolically because with these funds, New York recognizes the notion of “true” safety net hospitals. That is something to celebrate and for NYSNA to take its share of credit.
Above are excerpts from speeches delivered at NYSNA’s April 25 Lobby Day
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NEW YORK NURSE/CAP-NORTH APRIL 2017
Confronting the violence
A By Jill Furillo, RN, NYSNA Executive Director
s frontline caregivers we always put our patients first — we come to work every day to provide the very best care for our patients and we know that safe staffing saves their lives. And we know that patient outcomes are worse when staffing is insufficient. But it’s not just patients that suffer from short staffing. Studies have shown a correlation between short staffing and increases in workplace violence. And that puts our nurses in jeopardy. According to a 2014 study, more than 20 percent of all nurses and nursing students have been physically assaulted on the job. Erie County Medical Center LBU leader Sarah Ott is one of those
There’s a strong correlation between short staffing and increases in workplace violence. A patient became violent and took a swing at Sarah’s face. Sarah blocked the punch using the PMCS (Preventing and Managing Crisis Situations) moves she had been taught to protect herself without hurting the patient. But the patient reached for her ponytail and slammed Sarah to the ground. She lost consciousness and suffered from a head injury that has already kept her out of work for six weeks and will likely keep her off the job for at least four weeks more. Sarah says the other nurse on duty saved her from further injury with her quick response. That nurse had been caring for another patient who had been assaulted by the patient attacking Sarah. Sarah’s fellow RN got down on the ground with her to protect Sarah from continued assault. And Sarah says she was also lucky because a security guard — not permanently stationed on her floor — happened to be making his rounds at the time and came to their immediate assistance. “I can’t guarantee that this wouldn’t have happened if we’d had enough staff,” said Sarah. “But it would have definitely been helpful. That’s one of the reasons why I’m so passionate about our safe staffing bill.” Lingering effects
nurses. One Sunday in February, she was assaulted while working short-staffed in her hospital’s psych unit. A nurse had taken the day off unexpectedly and management did not bring in a replacement. The charge nurse was on a lunch break. That left Sarah as one of only two nurses covering all 18 patients on the floor.
Sarah said the hospital has handled her injury well and a big part of that is due to contract language she and her NYSNA colleagues won to ensure that injured workers have support and follow up, including assault pay. She’s thankful that her brain injury is temporary and she is on the path to recover. Still, she suffers from unrelenting headaches and has problems with balance. Sarah wasn’t the only one who suffered as a result of her assault. Her colleagues on the floor were also traumatized. Workplace assault can have a devastating effect on morale and can lead to high turnover.
Nurses at facilities throughout New York State have reported that violent incidents have been on the rise. A vital solution to this troubling trend is to ensure adequate staffing levels throughout our state. Staffing levels should be dictated by the same evidence-based approach that determines treatment for our patients. And the evidence is abundantly clear that safe staffing is key to the wellbeing of both patients and caregivers. NYSNA resources
Additionally, NYSNA’s health and safety department has implemented a range of programs to reduce and prevent workplace assaults, including excellent training. “Violence in the healthcare setting” teaches effective methods to decrease the risk of violence. Our union’s health and safety representatives conduct worksite inspections and make recommendations on safety measures. They work with LBU leadership to create strategic safety plans and can join nurses at labor management meetings to help push for effective controls. Too often hospital management puts the burden of safety on the frontline caregivers. But it is the responsibility of hospitals to keep healthcare workers safe. Some effective measures can be simple and cheap, such as putting in a convex mirror so caregivers can see around a corner. Other measures include increasing security at entry points to the hospital so that visitors can’t come and go unmonitored, and adding physical barriers in certain areas of the hospital that protect caregivers. LBU leaders should contact our health and safety department if they would like help developing safety plans. And we need to continue to stand together in our campaign to win safe staffing to protect our patients and our colleagues. We’re not backing down until we win, because the safety of both nurses and patients depends on it.
NEW YORK NURSE/CAP-NORTH
LOBBY DAY
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APRIL 2017
Lobby Day 2017: an RN tribute to healthcare justice for all
W
ith 800 members from around the state, joined by more than 400 nursing students, this year’s Lobby Day proved to be yet another strong statement of NYSNA’s commitment to healthcare justice. This day was the culmination of meetings, conferences and conversations in our hospitals, at Interregionals, Single Payer press events, safety net coalition campaigning, climate justice rallies and more. It also drew representatives of our allies and scores of local and state elected officials. Lobby Day 2017 set as its goals laws that are fundamental in providing quality care to New York’s patients (see box, lower right). “When I see my sisters and brothers from Buffalo to the Bronx, from
Suffolk County to Sullivan County, from the borders of Canada to the borders of New Jersey, from unions to elected supporters to community advocacy groups to our patients: We’re all speaking with one voice: that safe staffing is a moral imperative, that healthcare equity is a mandate of a civilized society,” said NYSNA President Judy SheridanGonzalez, RN. Changes needed
“New York’s lawmakers need to protect patients and quality care by supporting laws that guarantee healthcare justice for all,” said Jill Furillo, RN, NYSNA Executive Director. “New York is facing a healthcare crisis, and it is up to
Albany to support and create laws that strengthen quality patient care.” Call for justice
Judith Cutchin, RN and President of NYSNA’s Health + Hospitals Executive Council, weighed in with a call for single payer, Medicare for all. “You have appeared at town councils, city forums, before local and regional meetings, and in front of local and state elected officials to make the case: Our time has come. The time to put patients over profits.” From Assembly sponsor of the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act, Aileen Gunther, RN, a NYSNA member who knows from where CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
NYSNA President Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, RN, opened the lunch program.
NYSNA Legislative Goals ● The Safe Staffing
for Quality Care Act (A.1532/S.3330) ● The New York Health Act/
Single-Payer Healthcare (A.4738/S.4840) ● Laws that preserve the
New York State Certificate of Need process and the critical funding to Enhanced SafetyNet Hospitals ● Laws that defend and
strengthen a nurse’s Scope of Practice
Senator Marisol Alcantara
Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj (D, 80) met with members from his Bronx district outside the Assembly chamber.
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APRIL 2017
Healthcare justice CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
“Let’s pass this bill! It’s about the bottom line of healthcare. It’s not the CEO’s bottom line — it’s our bottom line. You deserve this. We deserve this. Our patients deserve this. I want you to yell from the mountaintops, let’s pass this bill.” Putting patients first
NYSNA member Aileen Gunther, RN, is the Assembly sponsor of the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act.
More support came from State Senator Marisol Alcantara, newly elected to Manhattan’s Washington Heights district, and the first female state senator of Dominican heritage. “What I love about nurses: they don’t come here to talk about money or pensions. Nurses come here to talk about patient care. How to save public hospitals. Thank you!” We all remember that Sen. Alcantara worked tirelessly on NYSNA’s staff until her election. These were the words of Assemblymember Carrie Woerner. “You nurses are the red, beating heart of
our healthcare system. I know what you know — that when we have unsafe staffing you are running your feet off. It’s past time for us to pass safe staffing levels in our state.”
Student nurses
There were nursing students from 11 different programs in attendance, among them Wagner on Staten Island, Tompkins Cortland Community College, Dominican College, CUNY York College, Corning Community College, and SUNY Sullivan County. “It’s so important that students learn not only in the classroom. Every nurse needs to be an advocate for policies that affect our patients and profession. Lobby day teaches them how to be advocates,” said Professor Margarett Alexander of CUNY York College. Call to action
Students and professors from the City University of New York's York College were among 400 students from 11 nursing programs that took part in NYSNA's Lobby Day.
For Juana Caban, RN, from Richmond University Medical Center on Staten Island, this was her first Lobby Day. “I was really moved,” she said, “to hear the legislators tell such personal stories of their own experiences with nurses. It reminded me of why we’re working so hard to pass safe staffing. We want to be able to give the time and care our patients and their families need.” Fellow RUMC RN Peace Ali, also at Lobby Day for the first time, shared this thought: “I had been a back seat driver, always complaining and not doing anything. This year I decided it was time to take the wheel myself and add my voice. There is strength in numbers.”
New York
nurse special edition | april 2017
the official publication of the new york state nurses association
‘Right to Work’ is
S E S R U N r o f WRONG WAGES
$6,109 less per year than a worker in a free bargaining state.
HEALTH
Average worker in a RTW* state makes
POVERTY RATE
15.3%
in RTW states compared to 12.8% in free bargaining states.
BENEFITS
RISK OF WORKPLACE DEATH
of people younger than age 65 in RTW states are uninsured, compared to 9.4% in free bargaining states.
more likely in RTW states.
13%
49%
*Right to Work (RTW) source: AFL-CIO
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NEW YORK NURSE/NYC APRIL 2017
Right to work: Wrong for nurses!
R
Our union in action: Members from Western New York at NYSNA's March 28 RN Advocate Training
ight to work is a head-on attack on the existence of unions, threatening to undermine job security and a healthy and secure retirement for all working people. And while we at NYSNA are fortunate to work in New York state, a state without right-to-work laws, even here, right-to-work (RTW) is not an impossibility. At the federal level right now right-to-work is being debated. Make no mistake, unions are under serious attack. We at NYSNA cannot allow right-to-work to stand. RTW has devastating consequences on unions’ ability to collect dues. These funds support union leaders and staff, union governance, legal representation, legislative lobbying, political campaigns and pension, health, wealth and safety funds. In effect, RTW allows workers to have elected union representation by majority vote, BUT: ● employees in unionized businesses cannot be compelled to join the union; ● workers who opt out — or free riders — need not pay full dues, or in some instances, any dues whatsoever to the union; and ● unions are prohibited from collecting other fees from employees who opt out of union membership. These are significant setbacks. When large numbers of free riders opt out, a union can lose its ability to function effectively in a workplace, and may even dissolve. This is bad for our nurses, bad for working people, and bad for America. Unions are America’s best hope
Bar none, since the Industrial Revolution, organizations of workers, labor groups and now our unions have been the most effective advocates for working Americans. They have been in the vanguard of the fight against poverty and greed and for safe working conditions, a good standard of living, healthy communities, and a secure retirement for ALL. Our unions built America and helped make it prosperous, providing tens of millions of workers with job security, good wages and safer work places. In these times, it is critical that
NYSNA stand united and help keep America strong for workers. NYSNA’s history dates to 1901 and the role of nurses in building unions in the healthcare sector is on-going, a pillar of New York’s healthcare system. Our union today is 40,000 strong and along with other unions, NYSNA is out there building coalitions for progressive policies and social justice, with a high profile presence n Albany and in Washington, D.C. Our unions play a leading role in raising the minimum wage, ensuring healthcare access, enacting paid leave laws, protecting the environment, enforcing safe staffing and much more. NYSNA is there every step of the way. National Labor Relations Act
In 1935, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ushered in the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), a comprehensive federal law compelling employers to recognize unions and collectively bargain with their workers. Without this mechanism, strikes and boycotts were frequent and large, the primary ways for most workers to advance their interests. Collective bargaining expanded worker power and is the key to our ability to win fair contracts. NYSNA used the NLRA in 1957 to establish its economic and general welfare collective bargaining arm. Over the past three years, NYSNA
has exercised its right to bargain collectively, scoring big wins in the public and private sectors. We excel at it. Our contracts are outstanding and NYSNA’s growth reflects our professional skill at using the collective bargaining law. Union growth Labor organizing was fueled by the National Labor Relations Act. Just two decades after its passage, more than a third of American workers were union members. These rapidly escalating ranks allowed working people to win their fair share of the pie. They upped their wages and added unprecedented healthcare and retirement packages as a hedge against the setbacks of old age, illness and unemployment. And they won contractual protections as well, greatly strengthening worker rights to employment in a fair workplace. Union productivity was high and translated into strong profits for employers. Right to Work Without a doubt, a federal rightto-work law will present a serious challenge to union security gained in critical victories over the course of a century. All the costs of collective bargaining — research, legal, and administrative — are funded by dues-paying union members. And so, too, are grievances, which require money for fact-gathering and support. In RTW states free riders
AVERAGE ANNUAL RN WAGES Union RNs earn 25% more than non-union RNs nationally.
$75,000
$60,000
Non Union
Union
Source: Lance Compa, Cornell University, CNNMoney, Feb. 24, 2015
NEW YORK NURSE/NYC
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APRIL 2017 pay no union dues but reap all the benefits of union contracts. They let others foot the bill for contract negotiation and enforcement. They threaten the life of the union by refusing to contribute to its coffers. The end of collective bargaining could undercut the many benefits achieved for NYSNA members: fair wages, raises, benefits – including retirement and healthcare – and the protection of patients through safe staffing provisions and overall conditions in the facilities.
UNION ADVANTAGE: HEALTH AND PENSION BENEFITS Union members are 28% more likely to have employer-funded health care and 54% more likely to have an employer-funded pension plan than non-union workers.
53.9%
28.2%
Taft-Hartley In 1947, the federal government enacted the Taft-Hartley Act, amending the NLRA. Taft-Hartley was a way to demobilize labor by imposing limits on its ability to strike. And under Taft-Hartley, states were allowed to pass RTW laws that banned agency fees — money the unions used for collective bargaining and other essential aspects of union representational activity. Within a year, 12 states had RTW on their books. By 1960, the total had climbed to 19, largely in the South. Proponents of RTW claim it helps workers by protecting their Constitutional rights to freedom of association and speech. This is a specious argument because these protections are already afforded under federal labor law. No one can be forced to join a union as a condition of employment and union fees collected from non-union workers cannot be used for political purposes if the worker opts out. Proponents also claim that RTW creates jobs and the resulting economic benefits by fostering business friendly environments. The facts tell a very different story. Non-partisan analysis of Department of Labor and Census Bureau data found that workers in RTW states earn less, are far less likely to have health and pension benefits, are poorer and are far less likely to be union members. RTW is promoted as a strategy for attracting new businesses to a state precisely because it lowers wages and benefits, weakens workplace protections, and decreases the likelihood that employers will be required to negotiate with their employees. In fact, analysis by the Economic Policy Institute found that RTW laws have no significant impact on attracting employers to
Health Insurance
Pension
Source: Economic Policy Institute, The State of Working America, 12th Edition
a particular state and have not produced job growth. Further, by cutting wages, RTW laws threaten to undermine job growth by reducing the discretionary income people have to spend in local retail stores, real estate, construction, and service industries. Economists estimate that $1 million in wage cuts translates into an additional six jobs lost in the economy. RTW fervor died down in 1960 and entered a long period of hibernation with only four additional states passing RTW laws between 1960 and 2010. RTW is back
After five decades, RTW found new life after the 2010 mid-term elections, posing a threat to America’s unions. There are currently 28 states with right-to-work laws on the books and the numbers are growing fast. Since January, two states — Kentucky and Missouri — have passed RTW laws. This renewed RTW movement has powerful new advocates, among them the Koch brothers, industrialists whose vast fortunes in energy production and market speculation have played a leading role in funding RTW support. (Koch Industries revenues are in excess of $125 billion annually, making this enterprise among a handful of the most profitable in the nation). Americans for Prosperity and the American Legislative Exchange Council
(ALEC), just two among scores of organizations funded by the Kochs and their allies on the right, organized winning strategies for enacting RTW laws. By the end of 2012, 15 states had passed laws restricting the collective bargaining rights of public employees along with their ability to collect money from non-union members to pay for collective bargaining costs.
There are currently 28 states with right-towork laws on their books.
Why the courts matter
The same anti-union forces that pushed for Taft-Hartley and state RTW laws have filled the annals of American history with benchmark labor law cases, but the one most relevant to unions today is Abood vs. Detroit Board of Education. In CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
Our union in action: SIUH nurses and supporters met to review bargaining survey results on April 19.
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Just say no Every 20 years, by directive of the New York State Constitution, a question appears on every voter’s ballot: “Shall there be a convention to revise the constitution and amend same?” It’s an option worth preserving. However, there’s nothing to be gained right now by revising our State’s Constitution In fact, the opposite. Right-to-work proponents are pushing hard for a rewrite. They are promoting this agenda using slogans, such as “a chance to end the dysfunction in Albany.” These slogans say nothing, but have broad appeal. This does not bode well for unions. “Have no doubt,” State Senator Diane Savino (D, 23) warned a group of Staten Island University Hospital nurses recently, “should voters elect to hold a constitutional convention, worker protections and rights will be among the first things on the chopping block.” So voters beware. Right-towork proponents know that our legislature and governor are union friendly, and almost any bill curtailing union rights would be dead on arrival in Albany. But that doesn’t stop the rightto-work folks from peddling their influence in indirect ways. And a constitutional convention is just such a venue. It provides the opportunity to rewrite laws and make inroads into New York, one of the strongest union states in the country. Most New Yorkers are likely unaware of RTW efforts to use a constitutional rewrite to further their agenda. In February 2017, a poll, conducted by the Siena College Research Institute, found that of all union members surveyed, 57 percent think a constitutional convention is a good idea. We need to spread the word that a Constitutional Convention may subvert worker rights.
RTW: Wrong for nurses! CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9
1977, this Supreme Court ruling proved to be a double-edged sword for labor. The court ruled that union shop clauses did not apply to government jobs, delivering a severe blow to labor’s fastest growing sector. Public workers could no longer be required to join unions. And subsequently, other states enacted laws further restricting public sector bargaining rights. However, there was good news. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the right of public-sector unions to charge agency fees to workers who opt out of membership — thereby allowing unions to charge non-members fees for “collective bargaining, contract administration, and grievance adjustment purposes.” Proponents of RTW want Abood overturned. And recent cases, such as Freidrichs vs. California Teachers and Janus vs. AFSCME, look to do just that. In both cases, RTW forces argued that there is no line in the public sector between political and non-political activity. Therefore, under the First Amendment, all union activity in the public sector should be deemed “political” and dues should not be required from nonunion workers. Freichrichs was effectively blunted
Our union in action: Peconic Bay Medical Center members voted to ratify a new contract on April 20.
last year by a split court, but Janus has since picked up the ball. Backers of these cases, such as the National Right to Work Foundation, promote them in friendly terms, invoking First Amendment terms like “freedom of association” and “freedom of speech.” But these freedoms are not threatened by public union activity. Their real motive here is to undercut unions, allowing more control by management. Stifling workers’ voices
The ultimate aim is to destroy unions once and for all by denying dues needed for effective member advocacy. This effort would strip
workers of their workplace rights and stifle their voices in the political arena, stunting advocacy for health and safety, environmental protections, and other laws that protect the public’s health. Needless to say, bigger profits would be had in an America with unions in demise. For NYSNA nurses, reduction of dues for the range of services and activities that make our union such a vital part of the health and civic life of New York would be a terrible loss. It would undercut our collective bargaining that leads to concrete benefits as well as threaten the solidarity of our nurses and the patient advocacy at the center of our profession.
MEDIAN HOURLY EARNINGS BY REGION, UNION vs. NON-UNION, 2015-2016 $31.59 $22.65
$22.51 $19.22
$17.00
USA
$26.44
$25.96
$25.00
$24.16
NYS
$18.00
NYC Metro
NYC (5 boroughs)
U.S. Current Population Survey, Outgoing Rotation Groups, 2015 – June 2106, all occupations
Union
Non-Union
NYS, excl. NYC
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Claxton-Hepburn RNs hold firm and win
T
he first management proposal on the table when NYSNA’s contract at Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center (CHMC) in Ogdensburg expired was for nurses to start paying toward their health coverage. “We told them that was a non-starter,” said Roderic Roca, RN, a 28-year CHMC veteran, who works in Ambulatory Surgery PACU. It was an uphill battle for the hospital from there, with nurses holding firm on full employer contributions for health insurance and a demand for wage raises. And on March 30, the RNs roundly celebrated victory with a new threeyear agreement overwhelmingly ratified by the nurses. Health benefits the priority
“Keeping health benefits with no changes was the single most important issue for the majority of members,” Roca said. The hospital had recently implemented a policy requiring non-union employees to contribute to their health coverage. As a result, the negotiating committee was vigilant in keeping members informed and engaged with what was happening at the table. “With uncertainty on healthcare at the national level and rising local competition, I think the hospital decided it had more pressing issues to deal with than fighting its own nurses,” Roca said. There were no givebacks in the contract for the hospital’s 150 members. “This time around,
Roderic Roca, RN, helped tally the votes.
CHMC NYSNA Negotiating Committee members Sharon Leeson, RN (standing); Tamara Graveline, RN; and Tammy Tynon, RN
our demands were straight forward. Negotiations went relatively smoothly and quickly and we ended up where our members wanted to be,” said Tammy Tynon, RN, LBU Secretary and negotiating committee member.
The old CHMC contract expired on Jan. 31, 2017. Congratulations were sent around to CHMC nurses for standing tough and winning their new contract with record speed.
First time ratios at ADM
A
big win at Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake will usher in spring, as members ratified an agreement with full retroactivity, no takeaways and solid wage increases. The three-year contract expires December 31, 2019. For the first time, the contract establishes staffing ratio guidelines and a labor-management staffing committee that will meet regularly to ensure there is a safe workplace
and fine-tune the base ratio guideline of 1:5 in med/surge. A top bargaining priority was maintaining current time off and benefit accruals. Management had proposed a PTO system that would have cut the accrual rate and resulted in less time off for most members. The PTO system had already been implemented for the hospital’s non-union employees. “We stood firm in our position of no changes to our existing system
of time off and accrual of benefit hours,” said Bill Schneider, an RN in the hospital’s ICU. The majority of the hospital’s 160 nurses were involved in every step of the negotiation process, from a strong response in the initial bargaining survey to support petitions along the way. In the end, that involvement and unity resulted in a groundbreaking contract with unanimous ratification.
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NY Health Act: the fight continues
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NYSNA First Vice President Marva Wade, RN, addressed those gathered at the church.
here was standing room only in Albany on April 4 at an event sponsored by the Campaign for New York Health. A crowd of almost 600 packed the church in support of the New York Health Act, which promises health coverage to ALL New Yorkers. The date itself, the 49th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination, resonated with history and meaning in the long fight for healthcare for all, as RN and NYSNA First Vice President Martha Wade quoted words that Dr. King spoke half a century ago: “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” Wade continued: “I want to say this, as a registered nurse in New York City for some years: the inequality in healthcare is a terrible disgrace … The struggle to attend to underserved communities, poor, working poor, many are communities of color, is very much a part of what brings us here today.”
Focus on Senate
A fired-up crowd of nurses and representatives from Physicians for a National Health Program, SEIU CIR, 1199SEIU, and community and healthcare advocates filed shoulder-to-shoulder out of the church, filling the streets of Albany en route to the Capitol. State Assemblyman Richard Gottfried (D, 75), NYSNA President Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, RN, Senator Marisol Alcantara (D, 31), Senator Gustavo Rivera (D, 33), SEIU CIR Doctors, patients and other speakers rallied the crowd. The air was charged with excitement as small groups left the staging site to call on legislators and demand support for the New York Health Act, lobbying those State senators hard who remain uncommitted. The New York Health Act has passed the New York State Assembly by a huge majority in 2015 and 2016 and supporters have grown exponentially in the Senate,
where the bill is only one vote shy of a majority. If it passes, New York will have the largest statewide universal single-payer health care system in the country. Under the Health Act, New Yorkers would be able to go to the doctor or hospital of their choice without fear of bankruptcy — a right enjoyed by citizens of almost every other country in the industrialized world. Substantial costs savings
Cost would no longer be a serious barrier to care in New York, where one in three families cannot continue to pay for coverage for a family member each year because of costs that are often associated with a serious medical condition. In addition, employers continue to eliminate coverage or shift costs to their employees. Under the New York Health Act, ALL New Yorkers would be covered. There are no premiums, deductibles or copays in the bill, and there are no restricted provider networks and out-of-network charges. Taking insurance companies out of the picture could save billions in administrative costs. It would allow
the government to negotiate the price for drugs and medical devices, and it would relieve employers of the cost and burden of reviewing, selecting and administering health benefits. “Single-payer health care could truly be the difference between my business’ lights staying on or not. This is an economic policy that will benefit those of us who contribute a majority of private employment in our state and insuring that we, like nearly all other developed nations in the world, provide health care as a right of all New Yorkers — not just the privileged,” said Ian Golden, Owner, Finger Lakes Running Company and Red Newt Racing. Time has come
The New York Health Act is within our grasp. “We will do away, once and for all, with a pay-to-play healthcare system that allows these terrible inequalities to persist,” Marva Wade said. “We MUST pass the New York Health Act and make patient need THE priority. Level the field for all Americans to get quality care. Let’s make the 21st Century a time of equal care for all.”
Protect our Medicaid NYSNA, labor allies, community organizations, public health experts and representatives of seniors, the disabled and immigrant groups, whose healthcare or family care is funded through Medicaid, gathered to call for its protection at a New York City town hall meeting on April 6. The Coalition to Protect Medicaid sponsored the event and it was coordinated by the Commission on the Public’s Health System, whose director, Anthony Feliciano, spoke with urgency: “Medicaid remains our most vital program.”
New York City Public Advocate Letitia James addressed the April 6 Town Hall meeting.
NYC Public Advocate Letitia James, spoke about recent efforts to stop federal healthcare cuts: “We are always up for a good fight,” said James, referring to efforts to repeal the ACA in Washington and the fight to protect Medicaid. The Coalition includes 22 community-based organizations. Medicaid touches the lives of 6.5 million New Yorkers, and preserving its viability tops our community healthcare priorities.
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Advocacy conference
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ore than 300 nurses from across New York State gathered in Westchester County on March 28 for a day of leadership training. The goal of the program was to advance the practice of nursing and develop nurse leaders who can address the challenges of our time.
NYSNA President Judy SheridanGonzalez, RN, kicked off the day with an overview of what’s ahead for healthcare, the labor movement, and working families. Nurses, she said, must stand united to protect our patients and our practice. Attendees received in-depth training on contracts as well as nurse and patient rights. They learned how to organize collective actions and empower LBUs to enforce contracts and stand up for patients and nurses. Breakout workshops ran the gamut from how to use democratic processes to create change to skills building sessions on developing and writing resolutions, where nurses gave examples from their experiences in the trenches. According to Jennifer Gunderman, RN, Ellis Medicine Bellevue Woman’s Center, asking for a resolution in support of the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act was surprisingly simple. “We started by initiating conversations with members of the Schenectady City Council,” she said. “And before we knew it, we were speaking with the Albany County Legislature.”
tions. “It’s edifying to learn that nurses are not alone,” Motten said. “Public or private sector, we all face the same challenges in caring for our patients and we all want to give them the best possible care.” Nurse leaders will have another opportunity to come together for a statewide meeting on May 19 at NYSNA’s Public Sector/Private Sector Advocates Conference.
2017 Upcoming Leadership Training Ted Levine, RN, Mt. Sinai Medical Center, gave his group's report at the workshop on developing and writing resolutions.
May 16
Sinai System (Part 2)
May 22
North Country (Part 1)
May 25
Southern Tier (Part 1)
May 26
New York Presbyterian (Part 2)
May 30
Hudson Valley/ Westchester (Part 1)
June 7
Hudson Valley/ Westhester (Part 2)
June 15 Staten Island (Part 1)
Members shared ideas at one of the conference's afternoon workshops.
June 16 Lincoln Medical & Mental Health (Part 2) June 27 Hudson Valley/ Westchester (Part 2) July 18
Sinai System (Part 2)
To register or get more information, contact your NYSNA Representative. A complete 2017 schedule is available on nysna.org
Sharing strategies
Peer-to-peer discussions included organizing and assertive grievance handling; how to identify and recruit new nurse leaders in the workplace; and how to wage an effective Protest of Assignment campaign, like the one in the Jacobi Medical Center Emergency Department. “We approached the problem of chronic understaffing as a unified team, and filed 123 POAs over a ten-month period,” Nadia Jackson, RN, Jacobi Medical Center, said. “By the time we finished, the hospital agreed to hire 18 new RNs.” The Westchester leadership training conference was a resounding success. It was a first for Sohir Motten, RN, Erie County Medical Center, who said she benefitted immensely from the day’s interac-
In addition to statewide forums like the one on March 28, NYSNA offers an ongoing two-part series of localized leadership training:
Members from Westchester Medical Center, St. John's Riverside Hospital and St. Joseph Medical Center welcomed colleagues from around the state to their home turf in Westchester County.
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APRIL 2017
First time lobbyist Bill Schneider, RN Adirondack Medical Center, 3 years
“
This was my first time at lobbying. It was so exciting and impressive to see the magnitude of NYSNA’s effort. I was really struck by the comments of Senator Alcantara when she talked about when she hears from NYSNA that it’s never about money and our own paychecks — but always about making the system better and safer for patients. I hadn’t before considered about how truly unique and powerful our message is.”
Patrick Valentine, RN Adirondack Medical Center, LBU President, 22 years
“
This is my sixth lobby day! I love coming and meeting members from all over the state and learning about what's happening at their hospitals.“ Patrick Valentine, RN (left) and Bill Schneider, RN
AROUND THE STATE
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APRIL 2017
Women’s GOP Conference
RNs going the distance
Big gains for LI members
Three Erie County Medical Center nurses made the 12-hour round trip to Albany to participate in the April 4 Single Payer Lobby Day.
RNs and other Professionals at Peconic Bay ratified a new three-year agreement on April 20 that achieved all priorities, including new steps and preservation of 13-hour shifts.
NYSNA sponsored and participated in New York’s 2017 Women’s Republican Conference held April 2-4 in Albany. Member Jane Barrett, an RN from Westchester County Medical Center, connected with other Republican women, including State Senator Sue Serino (R, 41), to discuss issues that nurses face in the changing healthcare industry.
Solidarity on Long Island LIJ Valley Stream/Northwell members Carol Calderaro, RN, Lydi Alexandre, RN, and Sandra Marion-Armstrong, RN, were among the many union members who attended the Long Island Federation of Labor’s annual reception on March 27.
Secor Scholarship New contract for Yonkers RNs
No snow job for Utica RNs
St. Joseph Medical Center's 250 nurses unanimously ratified a new three-year contract on April 13, winning economic and staffing gains and giving no concessions.
Nurses at St. Elizabeth Medical Center are standing united to enforce their new contract's language on double pay for mandated overtime during Superstorm Stella.
SI staffing committee takes off
NYSNA & 1199 vs. Fresenius
Nurses from every unit and shift at Richmond University Medical Center are making their voices heard at their new monthly labor-management staffing committee meetings.
Nurses and healthcare workers at Fresenius dialysis locations in the New York City metro area picketed and took a strike vote authorization on April 19.
The June 1 deadline is fast approaching to apply for the Secor Scholarship. Established in 2007 by a generous bequest from long-time NYSNA member Jane Secor, PhD, RN, the fund awards two scholarships annually: 1) $5,000 to a member of NYSNA, seeking a baccalaureate or higher degree in nursing; and 2) $5,000 to a family member of a NYSNA member, seeking a first degree in nursing. For more information, go to www.nysna.org or contact Deb Grebert in NYSNA’s Albany office at 518.782.9400, ext. 240 for materials.
NEW YORK NURSE
Non-Profit US Postage Paid NYSNA
APRIL 2017
131 West 33rd Street, 4th Floor New York, NY 10001 3 Cap/North
INSIDE
Win for rural and urban safety nets, p. 3
Build a powerful RN movement with healthcare professionals & our patients! 9:15 AM to 5:30 PM Roosevelt Hotel 45 East 45th Street New York, NY 10017 Contact your Rep for further information or EMAIL MCP@nysna.org to reserve or Register online and find a list of objectives and continuing nursing education contact hours at: www.nysna.org/May19Conference
Advocacy conference, p. 13
Participants will be eligible to receive up to 6.0 continuing nursing education contact hours.