NYSNA Nurses Kick Off 2026 Legislative Session in Albany
On Wednesday, Feb. 25, NYSNA nurses joined labor and community allies and elected officials, including former NYSNA member and current New York State Assembly Member Phara Souffrant Forrest and New York City Council Member Chi Osse, for an Albany Takeover to demand that New York State tax the rich! With healthcare, social services, education, and programs that working families rely on under attack from the federal government, New York State needs to step up. It’s past time for millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share, so that New York can prioritize the needs of working families!
The Takeover began with a rally at The Armory, where attendees heard from advocates and elected officials. After the speaking program, attendees marched down Washington Avenue to our state capitol, where we continued to rally and demand state investment in public goods that benefit working families, including universal childcare, permanently affordable housing, and fast and free buses. NYSNA nurses are proud to have joined in the action and spent the day fostering new connections with advocates from across the state. See photos from the Albany Takeover on the NYSNA Facebook page.
What’s Next?
The Albany Takeover was just the first event in what is sure to be a busy legislative session for NYSNA nurses. On Sunday, Mar. 8, public sector nurses from across the state will join public sector union members from all over the state in Albany for an action calling on our state legislators to Fix Tier 6. Tier 6 is the retirement plan for New York State’s public employees who joined the program after April 2012. Tier 6 makes enrollees pay into the program for their entire careers, mandates higher contributions as salary increases, and prevents enrollees from retiring before age 63 without facing heavy penalties. This system leads to significantly reduced pensions, and as such, disincentivizes New Yorkers—including nurses—from working in the public sector. All New Yorkers deserve safe, quality patient care, and that begins with making sure our public hospitals are staffed with enough nurses to care for our communities.
On Tuesday, March 10, NYSNA nurses will return to Albany once again for our annual Lobby Day! Each year, NYSNA members from across the state come together to ensure nurses’ voices are heard in the halls of our Capitol and to advocate for our patients and our practice. Nurses will lobby our elected officials throughout the day and hold a press conference with elected champions at noon. This year, NYSNA is demanding that lawmakers:
- Ensure that all New Yorkers have high-quality healthcare through fair funding for public and safety net hospitals, protecting care for immigrant New Yorkers, saving essential but “unprofitable” healthcare services, and enacting the New York Health Act to guarantee universal, single payer healthcare for all New Yorkers.
- Raise revenues to fund healthcare and keep hospitals open for care by taxing corporations and the ultra-wealthy.
- Improve safe staffing levels and enforcement of our state’s staffing laws to protect quality patient care.
- Protect nursing practice standards and patient safety by strictly regulating the use of artificial intelligence, telehealth, hospital-at-home, and other emerging healthcare technology or modes of delivering care to ensure they are safe and equitable.
- Fix Tier 6 to recruit and retain enough nurses in the public sector.
Stay tuned for report backs from the Fix Tier 6 action and our 2026 Lobby Day, as well as other opportunities to advocate for the healthcare system we deserve!