Hundreds of nurses from across the state rallied May 4 on the steps of the state Capitol in Albany, N.Y., for legislation to ensure safe staffing in state healthcare facilities. The event marked the first time members of the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), Public Employees Federation (PEF) and the Nurse Alliance of New York State (SEIU 1199) rallied together. The nurses called on their state lawmakers to pass legislation to end mandatory overtime and require safe staffing levels in New York hospitals. They also demanded that lawmakers restore healthcare funding cuts in the state budget.

“New Yorkers have to ask themselves what kind of healthcare system they want,” Anne Goldman, chair of the NYSUT Health Care Professionals Council and special representative to the United Federation of Teachers, told the crowd. “The choice is clear: Either we staff hospitals the right way and end mandatory overtime, or we put every patient’s health and safety at risk. It’s really that simple.”

“Mandatory overtime erodes the quality of healthcare for our patients, and it erodes the health of our nurses and the quality of our family life,” said PEF statewide nurses committee co-chair Deborah Egel. “It’s time for all our sakes to pass the bill to ban mandatory overtime this year.”

The nurses were joined by Republican state Sen. Joseph Bruno, Democratic state Assemblyman Sheldon Silver and other state lawmakers who vowed to address their concerns. After the rally, the nurses met individually with the state lawmakers to continue lobbying.