Banner-gate: Adirondack Medical Center Nurses Replace Missing Banners, Keep Up Fight for Fair Contracts

For months, NYSNA nurses at Adirondack Medical Center have been fighting for a fair contract to ensure they can provide safe, quality patient care to the people of the Adirondack Park and the North Country. Adirondack is the only NYSNA-represented facility left in the North Country where nurses don’t have access to the NYSNA Benefit Fund, which provides nurses’ with affordable healthcare benefits. As a small hospital in a rural community, Adirondack nurses are concerned about recruiting the next generation of nurses and believe that affordable health benefits, which all frontline nurses deserve, will help to attract new nurses to care for their community.  

NYSNA Members Take Action

Since the summer, nurses have been escalating their demands for a fair contract. In July, they hosted a speak out, calling on hospital administrators to settle a fair contract. The speak out was the first time in nearly 20 years that Adirondack nurses have taken action outside the hospital.  

In late August, nurses ramped up their campaign once again; more than 50 NYSNA nurses gathered at a local park to hang banners calling on community members to email hospital CEO Aaron Kramer to demand a fair contract. Energized by their collective action, nurses walked together to the farmer’s market, where community members cheered and honked in support. Nurses ended the day feeling hopeful and excited by the community’s encouragement.

Less than 24 hours later, both banners mysteriously disappeared from the park. The nurses had received permits to hang the banners, and their removal was unlawful.  

Nurses refused to lose momentum in their contract fight due to the “banner-gate” incident. They jumped into action to get replacement banners and came together once again this past weekend to hang them up, chanting “When we fight, we win!”.

The Fight for Affordable Healthcare

Chief among nurses' demands during this contract campaign is access to the NYSNA Benefit Fund, which would deliver affordable healthcare benefits to nurses and their families. Currently, nurses’ only option is an expensive, employer-provided health plan, which has denied medically necessary procedures for some members. The current benefits package is a barrier to recruiting and retaining more nurses to ensure safe staffing levels in the hospital, making it more difficult for nurses to deliver the safe, quality care their patients deserve.

NYSNA nurses won’t be held back by management, especially when it comes to their health and the health of their patients. Nurses are feeling energized by the strength or their actions and will continue to fight until they win the fair contract that they and their community deserve. Keep up the great work, Adirondack nurses!

Join the nurses in their fight by sending an email to Adirondack CEO Aaron Kramer to demand he settle a fair contract with nurses now!