Union nurses join forces at NY State Capital

-jt · May 30, 2006

and a couple of weeks before that event was this one:

NYSNA REPORT: April 2006

More than 1,200 RNs Storm State Capitol

NYSNA Lobby Day a huge success

by Nancy J.Webber

It was an event of historic proportions when more than 1,260 nurses and nursing students came to the State Capitol for NYSNA’s April 4 Lobby Day.

Each participant received a bright red t-shirt printed with the Lobby Day theme, “Patient Safety Matters.” All day, the red shirts were visible everywhere. In the morning, they filled the huge Empire Convention Center to overflowing. In the afternoon, they were on every floor and in every hallway of the Legislative Office Building as nurses lobbied their legislators.

“It was a thrilling experience,” said NYSNA President Verlia Brown, who had a panoramic view of the convention center from her place on the stage.

“It was wonderful to see so many students, who are the future of our profession.”

The fine points of lobbying

During the briefing, mock legislative visits were presented by NYSNA lobbyists Tracy Tress and Artie Malkin, with assistance from Jan Howard, chair of the NYSNA Council on Legislation.

“Make sure you get a commitment from the legislator or staff member,” Malkin said. “Ask that they contact the leadership about getting bills out of committee and put on the calendar for a vote on the floor. Promise to call them back in a couple of weeks to check on their progress.”

Participants were briefed on four legislative priorities:

-Prohibiting mandatory overtime for nurses

-Mandating disclosure of staffing levels and quality indicators

-Protecting the title “nurse”

-Promoting educational advancement for nurses

Legislative leaders bring good news

After the briefing, President Brown welcomed two of the most powerful men in Albany to the speaker’s podium.

State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno expressed his appreciation for nurses, mentioning that his daughter-in-law is a nurse practitioner. He then announced that the Senate would allocate an additional $2 million for nursing faculty scholarships and $500,000 for a statewide safe patient handling demonstration project advocated by NYSNA.

Bruno earned a standing ovation when he promised that the Senate would pass legislation that would restrict the use of the title “nurse” to only registered professional nurses and licensed practical nurses. Later in the day, the Senate did just that. NYSNA has proposed this legislation because unlicensed workers currently can call themselves “nurses,” a practice that can be misleading to the public.

A short time later, when State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver spoke to the NYSNA group, he had an announcement of his own. He cited the Assembly’s long history of supporting nurses’ legislative priorities, including passage of the healthcare whistleblower protection act, support for safe staffing ratios in hospitals and nursing homes, and restricting use of the title “nurse.”

“The Assembly majority has agreed to add $1 million for the safe patient handling demonstration project,” Silver added. “We are proud to make this investment in you.” Nurses in the audience stood and cheered.

That afternoon, the Assembly passed NYSNA’s legislation to require hospitals and nursing homes to disclose staffing levels and patient outcomes related to quality nursing care.

A special cause for HHC nurses

A group of RNs who work for the public New York City Health & Hospitals Corporation and mayoral agencies came to Albany to lobby for legislation of critical importance to them. They are asking the state to add registered nurses to the list of “physically taxing” positions in the city administrative code.

NYSNA community affairs representative Carol Pittman explained the provisions of the bill, which has been introduced in the Assembly by Brooklyn Democrat Peter Abbate and in the Senate by Brooklyn Republican Martin Golden. A state law, combined with a Home Rule Message passed by the New York City Council, would be necessary to designate nursing as physically taxing. This would make city RNs in the NYSNA bargaining unit eligible for retirement at 50 with 25 years of experience.

Visit http://www.nysna.org for updates.

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