| | A Weekly Update for NYSNA Members | December 6, 2024 | |  | | | Bronx Midwives Speak Out and Rally for a Fair Contract NYSNA Physician Affiliated Group of New York (PAGNY) midwives working at NYC Health + Hospitals (H+H) in the Bronx held a rally and speak-out, making their voices heard for safe staffing, pay parity and a fair contract. Midwives at NYC H+H/Jacobi and North Central Bronx play a critical role in providing maternal and reproductive healthcare in the Bronx. However, they currently struggle with understaffing and the pressure to care for too many patients in too short a time. Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson; Senator Nathalia Fernandez; Assembly Members Michael Benedetto and John Zaccaro, Jr.; and City Council Member Pierina Sanchez joined nurses. Together, they called on PAGNY and NYC H+H to deliver the resources needed to continue reducing health disparities in the Bronx. The midwives have shared their message in the New York Amsterdam News, and their speak-out gained traction in The Chief-Leader. | | | | Nurses Clap Back at Albany Med’s Supposed “Last, Best, and Final Offer” In Tuesday’s bargaining session, Albany Medical Center nurses received what CEO Dr. Dennis McKenna called his “last, best, and final offer.” The next day, he held a press conference touting this ultimatum, further disrespecting nurses by kicking them out of the room. The latest offer doesn’t do nearly enough to give the nurses the respect they deserve, and his bullying tactics are an attempt to distract from the ongoing staffing crisis at the hospital and plans to cut nursing staff and services at the South Clinical Campus. Nurses response to the hospital’s public relations ploy was featured on CBS 6, News 10 ABC, WNYT and WAMC. Albany Med nurses know there is more bargaining left to do before they agree to a contract. They will not stop until they get the contract with the enforceable ratios, benefits and wages they and their patients deserve. All of NYSNA is in solidarity with Albany Med nurses, because they’ve fought far too hard to settle! | | | |  | St. Charles Nurses Win Settlement to Fully Staff ED Unit NYSNA and Catholic Health System’s St. Charles Hospital were able to reach an arbitration settlement for the Emergency Department (ED) unit. The ED unit has been severely short-staffed, and NYSNA nurses organized to hold the hospital accountable. The hospital was ordered to hire 10 new nurses — a 50% increase for the ED — and to safely staff the unit. The arbitrator gave St. Charles six months to hire, and the hospital agreed to report on its efforts to fill the vacancies at labor management and the clinical staffing meetings and allow one nurse from the ED to attend to receive updates on the recruiting process. This is a tremendous victory for the nurses who have worked tirelessly to deliver quality patient care. Congrats, St. Charles nurses! | | | | Mount Sinai Morningside ICU Nurses Win Arbitration Award and Staffing Enforcement Victory Intensive care unit (ICU) nurses at Mount Sinai Morningside won a safe staffing arbitration award. ICU 7E nurses at Morningside have painstakingly documented violations of their patient-nurse ratios over the course of 1.5 years. Despite management’s attempt to challenge the protest-of-assignment (POA) forms as inaccurate, the hundreds of detailed POA forms that managers acknowledged and signed showed irrefutable evidence of unsafe staffing conditions in the ICU. Mount Sinai even tried to claim that the 1:2 nurse-patient ratios did not apply to downgraded patients on the unit who were awaiting transfer to a lower acuity unit. The arbitrator rejected all of Mount Sinai’s arguments and awarded a financial remedy of over $100,000 to nurses to compensate for the additional workload they experienced. Congratulations, 7E nurses! | | | |  | NYC H+H/Mayorals Nurses Get in the Holiday Spirit Nurses from NYSNA’s NYC H+H/Mayorals Executive Council gathered to celebrate another incredible year at their 2024 holiday interregional meeting. Nurses reflected on a year of solidarity as they successfully organized against pay parity delays. Executive Council President Sonia Lawrence, RN, BSN, and Vice President Alizia McMyers, MSN, MHA, BSN, RN, reminded members how far they’ve come and highlighted some of the wins from the last year. H+H nurses took time to appreciate one another and their accomplishments to get energized for the continued fight for quality patient care for all New Yorkers in 2025. | | | |  | Oneida Hospital Nurses Kick Off Bargaining Oneida Hospital nurses recently kicked off negotiations for a new contract. During their first bargaining session, nurses delivered a comprehensive set of proposals. However, management came unprepared and was uncooperative throughout the second negotiations session. Nurses are ready to continue showing up union strong at negotiations and are ready to organize and pressure management for a fair contract. | | | | Huntington Nurses Are Union Certified and Ready to Bargain for a Fair Contract This week, Northwell Health/Huntington Hospital nurses received the National Labor Relations Board notice officially certifying NYSNA as their collective bargaining representative. Now, NYSNA-strong Huntington nurses are officially able to bargain their first contract. After several attempts to delay the union election, a majority of nurses finally voted to be represented by NYSNA on Nov. 20. Congratulations, Huntington nurses, and warmest welcome to our newest NYSNA members! | | | | Dec. 9: Mount Sinai South Nassau Nurses Speak Out Nurses at Mount Sinai South Nassau have been organizing to win its first union contract that benefits their patients, community and profession. However, management has yet to move on important contract proposals, such as staffing, wages and benefits. Nurses’ fight for a fair contract is heating up as nurses launched radio and social media ads urging community members to sign a petition in support of Long Island nurses. Nurses are getting ready to escalate their campaign and will walk the informational picket line on Monday, Dec. 9, from noon to 2:00 p.m. to make their demands for a fair contract heard! Join nurses on the informational picket line! | | | | Upcoming NNU Workshops As part of National Nurses United, NYSNA members can now access free continuing education courses and workshops online. Learn more about workshops that advance your practice and empower union nurses. Check out these upcoming workshops: | | | | Practice Alert: Required Completion of NYS Reporting Child Abuse Course All licensed health practitioners are required to repeat the Identification and Reporting New York State Child Abuse program, even if you have taken the program in the past. This is a one-time requirement that must be completed by April 1, 2025, with proof to be sent by each individual practitioner to New York State by April 1, 2025. Please check our flyer for more information. | | | | Seminar at Sea 2025 Join NYSNA on a weeklong cruise from Spain to Portugal on May 24-31, 2025. Not only will you get a chance to visit these beautiful countries, but you will also have the opportunity to obtain nursing continuing education credits and connect with colleagues from New York and throughout the country. You can find additional information in the informational flyer to learn about this unique and informative educational program and details on how to register for the cruise. | | | | Call for Papers in the Journal of the New York State Nurses Association The Journal of the New York Nurses Association is currently seeking papers. Authors are invited to submit scholarly papers, research studies, brief reports on clinical or educational innovations, and articles of opinion on subjects important to registered nurses. Of particular interest are papers addressing direct care issues. New authors and student authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts for publication. Check out the latest volume of the journal and read the guidelines for submission here. | | | | Full Nursing Education & Practice Virtual Course List! NYSNA members can take advantage of FREE e-leaRN courses, including state-mandated offerings, standard of practice and certification review courses, as well as nursing practice workshops. Take a look at the complete course offering and information on how to register here, or register for the courses directly here. | | | | Calling All Nurse Practitioners The NYSNA Nursing Education and Practice Department has added required and important educational offerings specifically for nurse practitioners (NPs). Here is the new listing of programs that are free to NYSNA NP members in 2024: - Updated: New York State Mandatory Prescriber Education Guidance – For DEA Registration No. (four-hour online asynchronous program required to be taken every three (3) years).
- New and Required: Federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 and New York State Requirements for All DEA Registered Practitioners: Safe Prescribing of Controlled Substances 8 Hour Training (a one-time eight-hour online asynchronous program. The deadline for satisfying this new training requirement is the date of a practitioner’s next scheduled DEA registration submission—regardless of whether it is an initial registration or a renewal registration—on or after June 27, 2023).
- Mandated New York State Infection Control Training for Healthcare Professionals (asynchronous program required to be taken every four (4) years).
- New and Required: New York State Child Abuse: Identification and Reporting, 8th Edition. (All licensed health practitioners are required to take this new program even if you have taken the New York State Child Abuse program in the past. This is a one-time requirement to be completed by April 1, 2025, with proof to be sent by the practitioner to New York State by April 1, 2025.)
- NPs and Midwives: Prescribing Information (Req. for Form 2B) (a one-time online asynchronous program for those NPs and midwives who did not graduate from an in-state NYSED registered NP program, satisfying the required coursework on New York and Federal Laws Governing Prescriptions and Record Keeping).
| | | | | | Build Nurse Union Power at Labor Education Trainings! Next week is Part 4 of the Fall Member Leader Training series via Zoom. Please join your fellow members from across the state to learn about building a campaign and solving workplace issues collectively! Part 4 will cover how to build well-organized and powerful campaigns to address workplace and patient care problems, as well as how to have effective meetings with management and other decision-makers! The training is 9:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Zoom. Registration is still open. You can join this training even if you missed the previous three. There are only a few more trainings before the end of the year! Check them out below as well as the first few trainings of 2025, and stay tuned for more! List of Upcoming Trainings (90 minutes on Zoom) — Register Here
Staffing Enforcement: Collecting Protests of Assignments
Saturday, Dec. 7 | 10:00-11:30 a.m. New Officer Training
Tuesday, Dec. 10 | 9:30-11:00 a.m. Check out more trainings in 2025! If you are interested in setting up an educational session in your hospital, please contact NYSNA Labor Education at labored@nysna.org. | | | |  | Save the Date: Lobby Day Save the date for NYSNA Lobby Day on March 11, 2025. NYSNA members know that our fight for safe staffing, health equity, and more depends on our elected officials investing in healthcare and holding employers accountable. Stay tuned for more details and how to reserve your seat on the bus! | | | | | | | | Dec. 11: Advocating for Health Care Justice with Nurse Advocacy Network The Nurse Advocacy Network is a network of nurses, other health care workers, patients and community supporters who mobilize for patient care protections and health care justice. The network, part of National Nurses United (NNU), works to hold our elected officials, health care employers and other decision-makers accountable for the health and safety of our communities. NAN will host a webinar called “Advocating for Health Care Justice: Taking Action with NAN” on Dec. 11 at 8:00 p.m. ET. NNU will provide nurses with practical tips on how to advocate for nurses, health care workers and patients in your community. NNU will send an email with the link to join and will also send reminders in the lead-up to the call. | | | | Enloe Health and Antelope Valley Nurses in California Ratify New Union Contracts California Nurses Association nurses at Enloe Health in Chico and Antelope Valley Medical Center ratified new union contracts. The 900 nurses at Antelope Valley Medical Center and 1,100 nurses at Enloe Health won improved health and safety protections, workplace violence protections, wage increases and more. Congratulations, nurses! | | | | Prenatal and Lactation Rights Under New York State Law Recent changes to New York state employment law help working parents better navigate work and family and require hospitals to better accommodate registered nurses’ medical and family needs. As of June 2024, public and private employers must provide a minimum of paid breaks of 30 minutes for employees to pump breast milk. Effective Jan. 1, 2025, New York will become the first state in the U.S. to require paid prenatal care leave, impacting all private employers. Learn more about these rights in our NYSNA fact sheet. | | | | Nurses’ Rights to Be Whistleblowers and Protest Your Assignments NYSNA members should be empowered with the knowledge of laws that have been passed with NYSNA’s input to protect them and empower them to speak up when patient safety is compromised, either due to unsafe staffing or other factors, such as a lack of personal protective equipment, as was the case throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Take a moment to learn about your rights in this flyer. | | | HEALTH & SAFETY AND COVID-19 RESOURCES | | Avian Flu Safety Alert for Healthcare Workers In early September 2024, the Missouri Department of Health reported that a patient with no known exposure to animals that may carry avian influenza (H5N1) was infected with the disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and further investigation later identified as many as 94 healthcare staff who had come in contact with the patient and several developed respiratory symptoms. Although there are no reported cases of avian flu in New York, check out NYSNA’s Health and Safety guide to protect healthcare workers exposed to H5N1. | | | | | | | | COVID-19 Leave Fact Sheet Nurses working in New York have several options for fully paid or partially paid leave to cover work time missed due to COVID-19 infection or COVID-19 quarantine. Check out this fact sheet updated by NYSNA’s Occupational Health and Safety team to learn more about your rights under New York state law. | | | | Long COVID Guide Read NYSNA’s Long COVID Guide to help you stay informed on the diagnosis, treatment options, benefits and rights for workers with long COVID. | | | | | | | | No-Cost Life Insurance Benefit From MetLife Are in Effect for NYSNA Members! NYSNA is pleased to announce a new member benefit that became effective on Aug. 1, 2024: Basic MetLife Life Insurance! This new coverage is at no-cost to you and provides $20,000 of Basic Life Insurance and $20,000 of Basic Personal Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) Insurance. All active members in good standing represented for collective bargaining through the union/policyholder will automatically be enrolled in the plan. This new union benefit is in addition to any other insurance provided by your benefits fund, your contract, or through your employer. Benefits include: - Basic term life insurance.
- AD&D benefits for covered losses that are the result of an accidental injury or loss of life, including line of duty death benefits.
For more information and instructions on designating a beneficiary, visit www.nysnawinstonbenefits.com or call 1-866-483-1124. Sign up with your NYSNA Member ID to set up and access your account and benefits. If you need your Member ID, please contact NYSNA Membership department at membership@nysna.org. Download and share the flyer. | | | | NYSNA Will-Writing Benefits From MetLife The NYSNA Benefits Fund gives NYSNA members who are covered by the NYSNA Benefits Fund access to personal will preparation services that MetLife Legal Plans offer — at no additional cost. Having a will prevents unnecessary stress and ensures final wishes are clear. The Benefits Fund offers valuable legal resources through MetLife Legal Plans to assist with creating or updating a will with a member’s Basic Life coverage. As part of this benefit, members get legal guidance and unlimited consultations with network attorneys. Learn more here. | | | | NYSNA Members Are Eligible for AFL-CIO’s Union Plus Benefits! The benefits of being a NYSNA member extend beyond your NYSNA benefits. As an affiliate of the AFL-CIO, NYSNA members are also eligible for Union Plus benefits to help current and retired labor union members and their families save money and support them through major milestones, celebrations and hardships. These benefits include discounts on wireless plans, credit card deals, mortgage deals, discounts on insurance plans and more! Find out more on the AFL-CIO Union Plus website. | | | | | | Free Benefits for NYSNA Members: UAP Program and SPAN Program The Union Assistance Program (UAP) is a confidential self-help program, independent from NYSNA, that is available to NYSNA members and their families as a membership benefit. When an employee or family member (18 or older) faces a significant personal problem, they can call UAP’s experienced counselors at 800-252-4555 for assistance at any time. Read more information on phone counseling services here. Learn about the benefits and resources offered through the UAP here. The December 2024 newsletter shares tips on how to live intentionally in 2025. Read it here. Statewide Peer Assistance for Nurses (SPAN) is a confidential education, support and advocacy program for all nurses licensed in New York state who are dealing with substance abuse problems. The SPAN newsletter for fall 2024 is here! The newsletter covers art therapy as part of recovery and highlights the SPAN story of Rob Simpson, eastern regional coordinator for SPAN. Visit the SPAN website for more information. | | | | | | In solidarity,
Pat Kane, RN
Executive Director | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
