NOVEMBER 2019
A NEWSLETTER FOR NYSNA RNs AT ERIE COUNTY MEDICAL CENTER
ECMC Nurses are Union Strong! ECMC nurses turned out big for NYSNA’s annual Convention. Eleven Delegates attended, along with a handful of member observers. We also joined with other nurse leaders from Western New York to represent Erie County and beyond.
Kena also took a lead role in addressing the entire NYSNA Delegation, presenting our union’s major accomplishments and progress on previous Convention resolutions in the last year.
Learning and Engaging
In addition to workshops and plenary sessions, nurses got on buses to attend a rally at Albany Medical Center, in solidarity with the 2,000 nurses who are struggling for a first contract. Although Albany Med nurses voted overwhelmingly to form a union more than a year ago, the employer has been dragging its feet in negotiations and is supporting a decertification effort.
Several workshops addressed issues specific to public sector workers, or incorporated a public sector perspective. The workshop, Understanding and Preserving Collective Advocacy Rights for Public Sector Nurses: The Implications of the Janus decision and NY State Taylor Law, featured ECMC leader and NYSNA Board Member, Chiqkena “Kena” Collins, RN, as well as nurses from Westchester Medical Center and NYC Health + Hospitals, the two other major public hospital systems represented by NYSNA. A first-time Delegate from ECMC who attended the workshop, Khadija Hatten, RN, said, “I’m a fairly new nurse and union member, so I thought this panel was very good. I didn’t realize all of the history and just how important unions are to protect our rights.”
Solidarity in Action
“Union-busting is disgusting,” said Kena. “Albany Medical Center may be using every trick in the book to undermine their nurses, but our statewide strength and solidarity will defeat them.” ECMC nurses rallied alongside Albany Med and other NYSNA nurses from around the state, showing our strength in numbers and proudly demonstrating that we are union strong!
