Letter to the Editor: Albany Med Nurses, Region Deserve Better
We are fortunate in the Capital Region to have Albany Medical Center, the region’s largest hospital and the only Level 1 trauma center between Canada and Westchester. Our members and their families, nearly 240,000 in the Capital Region, rely on Albany Med for care. However, quality patient care requires proper staffing, a key component in a contract dispute between the hospital and its nurses that has dragged on for months.
The New York State Nurses Association, a professionally run organization focused on giving nurses a voice in the workplace, has been sounding an alarm over staffing levels. However, hospital leadership has turned a deaf ear to the nurses, many of whom feel they have been silenced by management.
While the hospital can claim that staffing levels are adequate, workers have a right to express their disagreement.
Working people in this community deserve better. The Albany Med nurses want what we all deserve: good wages and affordable health care benefits. They want reasonable hours and workloads and safe working conditions. They want a voice on the job so they can do their job correctly.
It’s time for hospital administrators to listen to their nurses and settle a fair contract now, which will benefit the dedicated workforce and the community.
New York’s 2.5 million-member union movement stands in solidarity with nurses at Albany Med, fighting for patients’ safety, a fair contract, dignity and respect. The full resources of the entire union movement will be at their disposal for as long as necessary. We are in this fight together.