President's Message
Governor Hochul's Budget and Staffing Issues
The Governor’s 2023-24 Executive Budget contains many promising proposals. As we continue to review the documents, get input from our affiliates, and prepare for the annual legislative process to unfold, we will provide regular updates and additional information.
On the issue of health care, the staffing crisis remains a top concern. Hospitals and nursing homes across the state need help if we expect to provide the highest quality of care and necessary access, particularly for disadvantaged communities. This means long-term funding and planning. The state’s piecemeal, band-aid approach to health funding and policy has been in place for too long, resulting in over-reliance on mandatory overtime, jeopardizing the quality of care in too many facilities and forcing many health care employees to leave their chosen profession in frustration. Temporary measures, and reliance on staffing agencies or out-of-state providers are no longer acceptable and if we are to be prepared for the next emergency, we must learn from the past.
We need to do more both in terms of funding and recruitment of career health-care workers employed by these facilities. We will work with the Governor and Legislature to increase the Medicaid funding that was proposed to help struggling hospitals and nursing homes, and we will do more to incentivize people to enter into the fields of nursing, direct care, and other health care positions.
Next, we applaud the Governor’s proposal to index the minimum wage. It is a positive start to help address staffing issues throughout the public and private sector. However, we also need to raise the current minimum wage to address the inflationary erosion of its value over the last several years. We should then begin indexation from that level, so that the minimum wage reflects the true cost of living for workers.
As we continue to review the Governor’s climate and housing proposals with an eye on their ability to create jobs and help existing workers make the transition to the clean energy economy, we will pursue strong labor standards to make sure we create family-sustaining union jobs. The budget proposal as of now is lacking labor standards in both areas and that will need to be addressed.
In the coming weeks, we will focus on specific areas including those referred to in this article, to convey union priorities and to make sure this budget improves the lives of working families across the state.
Mario Cilento, President
Upcoming Meeting
LABOR LOBBYISTS MEETING
Monday, February 6, 2023, 1:00 p.m.
Senator Jessica Ramos, Chair of the Committee on Labor will be the guest speaker.