A coalition of nurse unions, including 1199SEIU RNs and LPNs, gathered on the steps of the New York State legislature building on May 22, to lobby for safe nurse-patient staffing ratios. They were galvanized by the news the day before that a bill they have been working to pass for years has finally moved out of a Senate committee to a floor vote this week.
The proposed bill would restrict the hospital practice of mandating forced overtime for nurses. Innumerable studies show that mandatory overtime causes worker fatigue that can lead to nursing errors. Moreover, it impacts family lives and is one of the top reasons why nurses leave the profession. Ten states have already passed laws prohibiting mandatory overtime of nurses.
The nurses were also lobbying for the passage of a bill to set safe staffing ratios between patients and nursing staff. Understaffing is a major concern of nurses overwhelmed by too many patients under their care.
The nurses gave NYS Senate leader Joseph Bruno a rousing cheer when he announced that the overtime bill has moved out of the Labor Committee for consideration by the full Senate. A companion bill in the Assembly languishes in the Codes Committee, headed by Assemblyman Joseph Lentol. His office was swamped by a delegation of the 500 nurses who came to Albany for a full day of lobbying.
In addition to the 1199 nurses belonging to the SEIU Nurse Alliance of New York State, participating nurse unions included the New York State United Teachers, Public Employees Federation, Communications Workers of America and the New York State Nurses Association.
This is the fourth year that 1199SEIU nurses have organized legislative lobbies in support of restricting mandatory overtime and setting safe nursing ratios in hospitals and nursing homes. “We will keep coming back until our legislators do the right thing,” said Norma Amsterdam, executive vice president of the 1199 Registered Nurses Division.
The proposed bill would restrict the hospital practice of mandating forced overtime for nurses. Innumerable studies show that mandatory overtime causes worker fatigue that can lead to nursing errors. Moreover, it impacts family lives and is one of the top reasons why nurses leave the profession. Ten states have already passed laws prohibiting mandatory overtime of nurses.
The nurses were also lobbying for the passage of a bill to set safe staffing ratios between patients and nursing staff. Understaffing is a major concern of nurses overwhelmed by too many patients under their care.
The nurses gave NYS Senate leader Joseph Bruno a rousing cheer when he announced that the overtime bill has moved out of the Labor Committee for consideration by the full Senate. A companion bill in the Assembly languishes in the Codes Committee, headed by Assemblyman Joseph Lentol. His office was swamped by a delegation of the 500 nurses who came to Albany for a full day of lobbying.
In addition to the 1199 nurses belonging to the SEIU Nurse Alliance of New York State, participating nurse unions included the New York State United Teachers, Public Employees Federation, Communications Workers of America and the New York State Nurses Association.
This is the fourth year that 1199SEIU nurses have organized legislative lobbies in support of restricting mandatory overtime and setting safe nursing ratios in hospitals and nursing homes. “We will keep coming back until our legislators do the right thing,” said Norma Amsterdam, executive vice president of the 1199 Registered Nurses Division.
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