Three local lawmakers side with nurses’ union in Albany Med contract battle

Three Albany County lawmakers announced on Friday that they are siding with the nurses’ union in their ongoing battle with Albany Medical Center over a new contract.  

Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, State Sen.-elect Pat Fahy, Assemblyman John McDonald and Sen. Neil Breslin released a letter Thursday that it had sent to the New York State Nurses Association, calling on them to accept the latest contract proposal.   

On Friday, Albany Common Council President Corey Ellis, Assemblywoman-elect Gabriella Romero and Assemblyman Phil Steck signed a letter of solidarity with other labor unions such as the AFL-CIO on Friday that called on Albany Med to address the crisis of what it says is understaffing.

They said that the union should not take the deal and continue to press for a new labor agreement with enforceable staffing ratios.  

Steck said that the public has a sense that health care system is breaking down, which is seen in long wait times for emergency room services.  

“Too many resources are going to the top and too few to those who provide care and to patients. NYSNA nurses at Albany Med are on the front line fighting not only for their own dignity as nurses but also to assure that sufficient resources are devoted to patient care rather than public relations,” he said in a statement.   

Ellis said he understands the union’s struggle.  

“As a labor leader myself, I know the struggle organized labor goes through when workers fight for a good contract. For my beloved nurses, the struggle rises to higher levels. Their fight for patient care and safe staffing is a fight for everyone in the community,” he said.  

Romero said she also stands with the union.  

“We cannot allow profit to stand in the way of safe staffing, quality care, and a living wage,” she said.