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.
As we head into primary election season here in New York, voting has been on my mind. It was a major topic of conversation at the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) Convention in Atlanta in May because we are witnessing history in the making — or rather in the unmaking.
The FY 2026-2027 New York State budget has finally passed — and NYSNA nurses’ relentless advocacy led to several critical victories for nurses, our patients and our nursing practice.
In 2021, NYSNA nurses and healthcare workers won groundbreaking legislation that established safe staffing standards at all hospitals in New York state. But since then, some hospitals and employers have continued to understaff units, prioritizing profits over patients and putting care at risk for all New Yorkers. While some nurses have been successful at pushing back against unsafe staffing levels, some hospitals continue to be chronically short staffed.
