ALBANY, N.Y. — The New York State Nurses Association finally won a new contract with Albany Medical Center this August. For the last year and a half, union nurses have been on a campaign here to improve working conditions and patient care at the only Level 1 trauma care hospital in the area.
Its emergency room had the longest average patient wait times in the state. Nurses here have historically had the lowest wages in the region.
Nurses, especially new hires, have consistently had requests for vacation time denied. We routinely don’t get a 30-minute meal break. And the medical center has not been following new state guidelines for staffing, with staffing commonly below normal in the ER, neonatal intensive care unit and medical surgical floors. The state Department of Health found over 500 staffing violations at the hospital over the last 18 months, and fined it $375,000.
Nurses have been active in trying to win a fair contract. At both of the last two bargaining sessions over 100 nurses showed up. They have been speaking to local union meetings and public activities, as well as at protest actions against recent government budget cuts.
The new four-year contract was approved by 98%. It includes wage increases of $7 an hour for new hires and $7.50 an hour for the majority of current nurses, as well as yearly wage increases of 4.25% to 5% for most nurses. Improved availability of vacation time and improved staffing levels are already being implemented on most floors. ER wait times have fallen.
This is the union’s second contract at Albany Medical Center. Winning our first contract in 2021 took three years of negotiations and a one-day strike.
— Mike Fitzsimmons is a nurse at
Albany Medical Center