New York and Labor Lead the Way

In early June, I traveled to the national AFL-CIO Convention in Minneapolis, for the first time ever. As a National Nurses United (NNU) delegate, I met with trade unionists from all over the country who are organizing and fighting for better workplaces and a better world.

Being directly connected to the national labor movement through NNU and feeling the energy over the course of several days was very inspiring. The convention hall was decorated with workers taking action to improve their working conditions, organizing into unions to have a voice and going on strike to fight for what’s right. Pictures and videos from our New York City private sector nurses’ strike were featured prominently throughout the convention, and I spoke with many union members who wanted to learn more about how NYSNA is winning great contracts and moving the needle forward for worker and healthcare justice in our state.

Go New York, Go!
New York is one of the bright spots in our country right now. And I’m not just talking about the excitement many of us felt about the New York Knicks (Go New York! Go New York! Go!). Throughout the state, there is a sense that it’s possible to do big things, and that does not exist in many other states. There is a feeling that we can do things our way. We can fight back and win against attacks on our patients, communities and healthcare system. And we can take bold steps to take care of one another and promote fairness, human rights and equal opportunity. These are all areas where unions in other states continue to be on defense.

Nationally, we may not be able to move the needle much against corporate greed, corporate healthcare and anti-democratic forces, but we are making progress here in New York. We saw that in the state budget process this year, where nurses fought for our practice; to save healthcare staff and services; to fund our safety net hospitals; to make sure that we protect our patients who are of low income, uninsured, immigrant or transgender; and to make billionaires pay their fair share to help fund healthcare and other services that support the many, not the wealthy few.

The Fight Ahead
But we have so much more work ahead of us here in New York. Right now, there are still many people at risk of being denied care or losing their health insurance. The very late state budget delayed payments to our safety net hospitals around the state, straining operations and stressing staff. If you don’t work at a safety net hospital, it might be hard to understand the lack of equipment and other resources that many of our members deal with daily. It might be hard to understand that staff often do not know whether their next paycheck is coming on time. At a time when the federal government has cut healthcare funding drastically, these stressors are intense for our members who are committed to taking care of a disproportionate number of uninsured and underinsured patients.

NYSNA nurses need to continue leading with our values to care for all New Yorkers and to treat every patient like a VIP. We need to continue building our community and political support to protect our patients, practice, union, and safety net and public hospitals.

To Survive and Thrive
We made more progress in New York this June through our get out the vote efforts. NYSNA helped elect worker and healthcare champions locally, statewide and nationally who will fight for nurses’ values.

I am confident that we will continue to move the needle with the power we are building through our union actions and through our relationships with our communities, elected officials and the entire labor movement.

Connecting with union leaders at the AFL-CIO Convention reminded me that we are not only on the right path — but nurses and labor are leading the way in New York. By continuing to put in the work, we will not only survive, but we will thrive.