The contract deadlock between Albany Medical Center and the New York State Nurses Association continues.
The nurses have been without a contract for about six months. The union has flatly rejected what the hospital had called its "last and best" contract offer, which would have come with retroactive pay back to August 1. Hospital President and CEO Dr. Dennis McKenna says that is now off the table.
"We have always listened to our nurses, and we always will," said McKenna. "And I will tell you, I listened to them last night, and they are very upset with the union that is meant to represent them here at Albany Med. They are very disappointed that the union refused to even bring our proposal forward for a vote. The union's sole interest is money in their pocket, collecting dues from members and requiring all Albany Med nurses to auto enroll and become dues paying members, whether they agree to it or not. I don't think that's appropriate."
McKenna says the offer still on the table raises nurses’ pay.
"Today we have a contract with NYSNA where the starting salary is $33 an hour, and our proposal would immediately move that to $37.50 and over the course of the next three years, would increase our starting salary by 34%," McKenna said.
Nurse Jennifer Kiehle says in NYSNA's eyes, retro pay is still on the bargaining table, but there's a larger issue Albany Med continually ignores.
"The contract proposal that Albany Med put forward did not address staffing issues. There's no enforceable staffing mechanism in their proposal. It did not do enough to recruit and retain quality nurses at Albany Med," Kiehle said.
"It's a sound bite for NYSNA to say staffing," said McKenna. "And I say the way we work on this together is recruit more nurses and hold on to them. And even without the acceptance of this contract, I can tell you, the numbers suggest that we have hired 250 nurses or more this year. Our turnover is going down. Our retention is going up."
NYSNA maintains that resolving staffing issues would significantly improve wait times for patient care. McKenna counters that wait times have diminished over the last several weeks, even in the busy Emergency Room, known for its marathon wait times.
"This morning, for example, if you came in like we all did at 7 a.m., the number of people in our waiting room was zero, zero with the same volume that we've had over the last several months," McKenna said.
With the continued lack of progress at the bargaining table after Monday’s deadline came and went, McKenna is now asking for outside intervention to end the impasse.
"I call on elected officials, local and statewide who, like us, know the role Albany Med plays in this region. They need Albany Med to be able to recruit and retain nurses. I ask them to speak up. Please lend their voices and tell NYSNA This deal is a good one, and they need to take it for a vote," said McKenna.
State Assemblymember John McDonald, a Democrat from the 108th district, is up for the task.
“I've actually requested a meeting with him to understand exactly where negotiations are at,” McDonald said, adding that he’ll sit down with both sides to find a contract that everybody can live with.
McKenna says he won't budge on his stance Albany Med continue as an "open shop," in the face of NYSNA's demands that all nurses be automatically enrolled in the union.
So it’s back to the bargaining table for both sides, with the next session December 17th.
