Chapter News

Union leaders and representatives from the union’s private, nonprofit and Department of Education functional chapters gathered at union headquarters on Jan. 16 to kick off a new union initiative intended to showcase and amplify the work of members in the diverse titles and collective bargaining units in the UFT.

Federation of Nurses/UFT members who are licensed practical nurses with VNS Health overwhelmingly ratified a contract on Jan. 27 that provides a 7.5% increase in base pay over two years while establishing the employer’s contractual obligation to consider factors like parking availability, travel time and level of patient need when scheduling daily caseloads.

Nurses take an oath to act in the best interest of their patients, but the corporatization of health care and the focus on profits have made it increasingly challenging to keep that vow. Nurses grappled with that challenge and took workshops to enhance their skills and knowledge at the Federation of Nurses/UFT's Professional Issues Conference.

In 2021, nurses and patients secured a hard-won victory with the passage of the state Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act. The law, among other provisions, set up safe and reasonable staffing ratios. But New York City hospitals routinely flout the law, and the state Department of Health has failed to enforce it.

The Federation of Nurses/UFT honored 21 nurses for their patient advocacy and activism in the face of a health care landscape that puts profits before patients during its annual Nurse Recognition Day awards dinner.

UFT Vice President Anne Goldman writes that hospital administrators driven by profit over patient care too often do not follow the nurse-to-patient ratios needed to safely care for patients. The Federation of Nurses/UFT is committed to continuing to expose such deficiencies and advocate for patients and the nursing profession.