The Albany Common Council has passed a resolution supporting the unionized Albany Medical Center nurses' battle for a new contract.
Nurses organized with the New York State Nurses Association have been working at Albany Med without a contract since August 1st.
The common council unanimously passed a resolution backing the union and its “safe staffing” stance Monday.
Albany Common Council President Corey Ellis said private hospitals in Albany "are not used to having workers have a voice."
"They don't know how to behave," Ellis said. "They don't know how to act. Downstate hospital workers have been in unions, and they know how to negotiate contracts. They know how to listen to their workers. For some reason in Albany, these employers feel like this is something new, so we're just going to continue to fight it. And that's why this area doesn't grow. The largest employer. The staffing bill is just not about nurses. This is about anyone who gives patient care."
Nurse Jennifer Bejo, a member of NYSNA's bargaining committee, thanked the council for passing the resolution.
"We are fighting against one of the most powerful employers in the Capital Region, and it is only through the support of the community that we will ensure that Albany med begins to take patient care seriously and address the staffing crisis," said Bejo.
Staffing deficiencies has been NYSNA's ongoing complaint. The nurses claim the hospital is putting patients at risk and contributing to long wait times. The hospital maintains that quality of care remains high. In February, as a result of filing a Freedom of Information request, the union obtained a copy of a state Department of Health report issued in July concerning a series of violations at the hospital.
Jaimie Alaxanian, a member of the NYSNA bargaining unit and the Albany Med Clinical Staffing Committee, tells WAMC the union is ready to continue contract talks.
"I don't think as far apart as it seems. We, at the end of the day, I believe we all want the same things we brought [to the table] to safely care for our patients. I believe that there's wiggle room on both sides. They didn't express that to us last week. There wasn't any movement from them really last week. But hopefully with the Department of Health validation being public and now the Albany Common Council, you know, expressing their support, we're hoping that this will pressure them to start listening to the nurses and work with us to fix the problem," Alaxanian said.
Albany Med says going back 16 months patient care has never been compromised, and the hospital hired more than 300 nurses in 2024. It adds, "We agree with NYSNA that recruiting even more nurses is critical to our mission. Allowing our nurses to vote on a contract is the way to do it."
Alaxanian says a new bargaining session has not yet been scheduled.
This story has been updated to remove a reference to Albany Common Council President Corey Ellis’ serving as NYSNA’s Upstate Political Director. Ellis tells WAMC he resigned when he began his run for Albany mayor. Updated 12:41 p.m. 3-7-25.
