Oneida Nurses Speak Out for Fair Contract

On Jan. 22, NYSNA nurses at Oneida Health braved the cold to hold a speak-out demanding that management settle the fair contract that nurses and patients deserve.
After weeks of negotiations, Oneida Health management surprised union nurses in late December by walking away from the table just before contract expiration on Dec. 31. Oneida nurses quickly took action, organizing a march on the boss to talk about their concerns over negotiations. After engaging a federal mediator, nurses successfully pushed management to resume bargaining.
Chief among nurses’ concerns at Oneida is retention incentives for local nurses. Oneida Health has had a history of high nurse turnover, often losing out to neighboring facilities because of their refusal to increase wages and incentives for long-time employees. Management proposed a contract in late December that would have made Oneida nurses some of the lowest paid in the region and done nothing to improve Oneida’s ability to keep qualified, experienced nurses at the bedside.
At the speak-out, NYSNA nurses addressed this issue, as well as safe staffing standards. Terry Delaney, RN, who has been a nurse at Oneida Health for 17 years, said: “When we’re understaffed, we can’t be in the room as long as we need to be, and we have to rush visits, trying to do the work of two nurses at once. As nurses, we do the best we can to make sure the high turnover and understaffing does not affect our patients. However, we know that continuity of care is essential to quality care and that the lack of experience at the bedside affects patient care.”
Oneida Health must listen to frontline nurses and settle a fair contract that keeps experienced nurses from their community at the bedside. After the success of the speak-out, which garnered coverage in NBC 5, WSYR, and the Oneida Sunday Dispatch, nurses remain energized about their fight and won’t stop until they win.