NYSNA Update: May 2, 2025
On May Day, NYSNA Nurses Show Up for Workers and Our Patients!
NYSNA nurses in New York City and the capital region showed up in full force to celebrate International Worker’s Day on Thursday, May 1. Hundreds of unions and community organizations supported yesterday’s actions in New York and across the country, which had the theme: “Stop the Billionaire Agenda. We Are the Many, They Are the Few.” In New York City, NYSNA nurses rallied at Foley Square and marched alongside thousands of New Yorkers to demand justice, equity and dignity for all workers and to push back against unprecedented recent attacks on essential social programs and workers’ rights. In Albany, nurses from Albany Medical Center and throughout the capital region marched from Albany Med to the Veteran Affairs hospital to demand a fair contract for Albany Med nurses and protest egregious cuts against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that will harm our veterans and threaten thousands of union healthcare jobs. Check out the press coverage of the Albany event and the photos from the rallies on our Facebook page.
On Wednesday, USA Today published an Op-Ed by NYSNA President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN, arguing that cuts to essential programs to pay for tax breaks for billionaires put the lives of our patients at risk. This is exactly why nurses will continue to march and speak out to protect Medicaid, Social Security, and all essential services our patients depend on.
Take action: Use this website to easily call and email your Congress member to tell them to vote NO on any budget package that includes cuts to Medicaid. And stay tuned for upcoming actions on our website.
H+H Nurses Speak Out to Reverse Sick Leave Policy at Brooklyn Annual Meeting
New York City Health+Hospitals (H+H)/Mayorals nurses continue to fight back against a punitive sick leave change. This week, they brought their concerns directly to the H+H board of directors and the public at H+H/South Brooklyn Health on Tuesday, April 29. Nurses from throughout the system testified to the H+H board, expressing that a policy change that punishes nurses for using sick leave and pressures them to work sick endangers both nurses and patients. Nurses reminded H+H leadership that their role on the front line exposes them to infectious disease, and they called out management for penalizing nurses for getting sick and using their hard-earned sick leave. With workers’ rights under attack at the federal level, H+H nurses are not backing down and will continue to fight to protect their right to stay home when sick. They plan to show up at the H+H board of directors annual meeting at H+H/Jacobi on Tuesday, May 20, and they will continue organized actions until the policy is reversed.
Take action to let H+H leadership know how you feel about nurses working sick. Check out more photos from the rally and speak-out on our Facebook page.
NYSNA Participates in New York Health Act Panel
On Thursday, May 1, NYSNA Treasurer and Vassar Brothers nurse, Margaret Franks, BSN, RN, was part of a panel at the Columbia School of Public Health to introduce public health students about the New York Health Act, the New York state version of Medicare-for-All that would expand access to healthcare to every New Yorker and save billions of dollars for both patients and taxpayers by eliminating insurance overhead and streamlining the system. The original sponsor of the legislation, Assembly member Dick Gottfried, and Sherry Chen, the Health Policy Coordinator for the Coalition for Asian American Children & Families, were also part of the panel. NYSNA members believe healthcare is a human right and educating future public health experts on the importance of this legislation is an important part of our mission to advocate for healthcare for all.