News

CWAers Stand For Safe Staffing in Buffalo

10 Nov, 2015

Huge crowd of union members & community leaders rally for #SafeStaffing in Buffalo, NY: https://t.co/g9EFfRaakc pic.twitter.com/oH4epN9RsP
— CWA District 1 (@CWADistrict1) November 9, 2015

Outside St. Joseph's Hospital on Monday over 160 healthcare workers and community leaders held 525 feet of short staffing/protest of assignment forms documenting staff shortages at their hospitals to draw attention to the staffing crisis facing hospitals and nursing homes in New York State.

Click here for more pictures.

Nurses are overwhelmed from caring for too many patients at once. “I put in 17 hours that day,” said Tonya Holscher, a Registered Nurse.”I felt exhausted and I felt like I was not at my mental capability that I was when I started the shift.”

CWA Locals 1168 and 1133 and the New York State Nurses Association have been working hard to lobby for the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act which would help ensure hospitals and nursing homes are properly staffed.

"The nurses want safe staffing levels so we can deliver the best care we can to the patients who deserve it. They are the reason why we're here," said Deborah Arnet, a registered nurse and president of CWA Local 1133.

Republican Assemblywoman Angela Wozniak and Democratic County Legislator Pat Burke spoke out at the event in support of legislation that would mandate safe staffing levels. "I'm calling upon Governor Cuomo to call a special session," said Wozniak. "This week legislators will be in Albany."

“I remember one day on my floor, I was working a double and nearly every light on the floor was lit up and I skipped my lunch. I skipped my break, and I knew I wouldn't be able to help everybody. And unfortunately that’s what nurses at Catholic Health face every day. We need to do this. We need to pass a safe standard legislation now," said Burke.

Western NY is seeing a surge in support of safe staffing legislation. In addition to a resolution recently passed in Amherst, NY several cities and counties are proposing resolutions supporting safe staffing legislation.