Dear friends,
This week, the nurses employed by public hospitals in NYC reached the end of their current contract on March 2. Apparently, they have also reached the end of their rope.
Their salaries are, on average, $12,000 less than those of nurses in private hospitals. There is a parity clause that was designed to keep their salaries within a thousand dollars of their counterparts in private hospitals, but since 1995, they have waived this clause because of benefits like health care and pensions.
“Parity has always been a part of the contract. So now we need to reinstate it and we need the city to negotiate fairly with us and give us a fair and equitable contract,” said Lincoln Hospital nurse Sonia Lawrence, who sits on the union’s bargaining committee.
What has changed, in addition to the pressures on health care facilities during the pandemic era, is that the city has “planned a shift to Medicare Advantage, which would increase health care costs for city retirees.”
As a retired teacher, I can attest that benefits have value; years of relatively low pay were a reasonable trade-off for my health benefits and pension. But when the benefits are reduced and the conditions become untenable — as they have for nurses working with short-staffing — the whole package comes into question.
The danger is that city nurses will leave the system for private employment. I’m not sure what we can do about this and welcome your suggestions!
It’s budget season at every level of government and when we are told that there’s no money for essential services — nursing care, climate mitigation and protection, schools, libraries, and so on — we need to respond.
The good folks from JFREJ will be out protesting city budget cuts to Pre-K, 3-K, public schools, and libraries at the Tweed Building, tomorrow at 11 AM. RSVP here.
Governor Hochul has said she won’t raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers, which is a pretty frustrating position, given the fact that the number of millionaires grew to an all-time high in 2021.
The number of millionaire tax filers jumped 21 percent from 2020 to 2021, according to the state Department of Taxation and Finance, with 14,678 taxpayers falling into the millionaire category for the first time in 2021.
So there is going to be some pressure to spend money on public goods.
Add your support for the Invest in Our New York Act. This quick action comes from a group of progressive organizations.
Join NY Renews in calling on legislators to support the Climate and Community Protection Fund. This takes 15 seconds!
with love,
L
P.S. Apologies! I thought I posted this in the morning, but it didn’t go out!