Fearless Albany Med Nurses Achieve Contract

After months of fighting and calling attention to the staffing crisis that threatened patient care, in August, Albany Med nurses secured a contract that achieves all they set out to win and more! With a real plan to recruit and retain nurses, the contract makes significant strides to improve patient care in the capital region.

This contract is the second one that Albany Med nurses have secured since they organized at the hospital. Their new contract includes enforceable safe staffing ratios, a vital step in addressing the staffing crisis. It also secured significant wage increases that will make these positions regionally competitive, including first-year increases between 16% and 22%, market parity increases in the next two years of the contract, additional 3% annual increases in the following years, and no wage caps for experienced nurses. Crucially, after months of management silencing them through retaliation and anti-union rhetoric, nurses secured an improved union voice and protections.

Winning Respectful Wages

While for years, nurses at Albany Med — a Level 1 Trauma Center that receives some of the most vulnerable patients from across the state — were among the lowest paid in the region, their contract ensures they will be among the highest paid in the area. Together, these contract wins will help recruit and retain nurses, improve working conditions and ultimately ensure safe patient care in the capital region.

A Hard-Won Victory

NYSNA nurses secured this contract after years of sounding the alarm about the staffing crisis that put patient care at risk. They began their fight for safe staffing well over a year ago, when nurses in the neonatal intensive care unit began tracking ratios in their unit. Routinely understaffed, the hospital was ignoring nurses’ calls to safely staff units and continued to place nurses in critical care assignments with three or four babies, when they should have had no more than two.

After meticulous nurse documentation, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) stepped in, investigated the hospital and corroborated the nurses’ findings. While the DOH’s enforcement efforts are key to ensuring that hospitals are held accountable when they break the law, their investigation did not result in immediate change. Instead, the DOH released a deficiency report with a record 500-plus violations of the safe staffing law. Months later and after more nurse action, the DOH levied a historic $375,000 in fines against the hospital.

While the DOH’s historic action drew attention to the areas that needed immediate change, nurses called out Albany Med’s continued reliance on Band-Aid fixes to address the staffing crisis, such as relying on expensive temporary travel nurses to fill gaps rather than making a serious effort to recruit and retain nurses and investing in safe quality patient care for the capital region.

Nurses remained united and committed to holding the hospital accountable in the absence of substantive change. Throughout the past 1.5 years, they held townhalls and an informational picket,1 hosted community forums,2 delivered petitions to hospital leadership and held speak-outs for safe staffing.3 They received the help of other unions,4 community groups and elected officials5 who penned letters of solidarity,6 and they launched an ad campaign across the capital region. They spoke out at every turn possible, demanding that the state and board of directors intervene, and they drew the attention of important allies, who — like the nurses — understood that this fight was much bigger than their bargaining unit and affected patients well beyond the capital region.

When nurses spoke up, management responded with retaliation. Management targeted outspoken nurse advocates and disciplined them for bringing attention to safe patient care; the union filed several unfair labor practice charges in response. As nurses fought to hold the hospital accountable, they continued to work in impossible conditions, and the hospital continued to lose experienced, dedicated nurses. Despite this, nurses never gave in to management and continued to fight at the bargaining table. Over 1,000 nurses signed a petition, displaying their unity in spite of management’s fierce anti-union campaign. Finally, they secured a contract that nurses are incredibly proud of.

A New Day for AMC Nurses

After securing the contract, Jennifer Bejo, RN, and Local Bargaining Unit (LBU) President at Albany Med, said, “This is a new day for nurses at Albany Medical Center. Union nurses showed what we can accomplish on behalf of our patients and colleagues when we work together and advocate.”

Nurses have shown a fearless dedication to their coworkers, their patients and their communities. They have demonstrated that when nurses remain united and fight for what they know is right, anything is possible. However, the fight is not over, and hard work remains. Nurses must work to make sure that the contract that they worked so hard to achieve is enforced and that new nurses at Albany Med learn about the union difference. Albany Med nurses showed that when NYSNA nurses fight, we win!

SOURCES
1 https://www.news10.com/news/albany-med-nysna-nurses-rally-support-with-picket/
2 https://cbs6albany.com/news/local/nurses-at-albany-med-speak-out-against-staffing-shortages-demand-fair-contract-safe-nysdoh-nysna
3 https://cbs6albany.com/news/local/albany-med-nurses-march-for-fair-contract-staffing-crisis-doh
4 https://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/letters-20022275.php
5 https://www.wamc.org/news/2025-05-09/new-york-state-lawmakers-wade-into-albany-medical-center-staffing-dispute
6 bit.ly/albanymed-solidarity