Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, New Jersey and New York have closely coordinated their public health response, but when it comes to enacting workplace protections for essential workers, their approaches differ, according to union leaders from both states.
Occupational-health experts note that the policies of the states have become particularly important because the U.S. Department of Labor s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has yet to issue pandemic regulations.
Jersey Standards
In New Jersey, after consulting with unions as well as groups like Make the Road New Jersey, an advocacy group for immigrant workers, Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order Nov. 5 requiring all employers to provide personal protective equipment, routinely clean and disinfect all high-touch areas and require customers to follow basic public-health requirements, such as wearing masks.
Nurses on medical-surgical units are typically responsible for five or six patients, but these days they may oversee care for seven, eight or even nine patients, Conley said. In the ICU, nurses normally care for two patients, but now often have to care for three, she said.
“It has been very challenging,” she said.
Conley acknowledged that the Mohawk Valley Health System has been trying to recruit more patient care staff, including nurses, but said administrators need to do more to recruit and to retain staff. Some nurses have left because they’ve gotten better offers elsewhere, she noted.
“Be competitive in the marketplace,” Conley advised administrators. “Brainstorm some idea. There’s things that could be done. They’ve got to step up and make it happen.”
By Jacob Perasso December 21, 2020
Militant/Ved DookhunMembers of New York State Nurses Association picket Albany Medical Center during Dec. 1 strike demanding more staff to ensure safety and for the health of patients, higher pay.
ALBANY, N.Y. Hundreds of nurses organized by the New York State Nurses Association struck Albany Medical Center here Dec. 1. Many picketed the entire day, dressed in red and carrying signs reading, “On strike for safety” and “Fair contract for patients and nurses.” Hospital bosses, who had hired replacement workers, prevented nurses from returning to work for three days after the 24-hour strike.
“This strike is about respect and safety and it’s about time that AMC stop treating us like thugs and thieves,” Lenore Granich, a striking nurse who is a member of the union negotiating committee, told a midday solidarity rally.
By Ved Dookhun December 21, 2020
ILION, N.Y. Some 30 people participated in an informational picket here Dec. 5 to show support for United Mine Workers Local 717 members demanding Remington Outdoor Co. honor their union contract. Remington bosses filed for bankruptcy in July, terminated 585 workers in October, and cut off their health care and access to other benefits. They also refused to give severance and accrued vacation pay. Local 717 has held rallies twice a week here since the layoffs, and plans to continue.
The company has run the plant since 1828. In bankruptcy it sold off its brands of shotguns, rifles and ammunition to seven different buyers. It sold the plant to Roundhill Group, whose boss says he wants to refit it to build guns sometime in the future. The union says it wants jobs and a union contract when the plant reopens. There are few other industrial employers in Ilion, a village of 8,000.
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Employees continue to file COVID-19-related lawsuits against their employers at a rapid clip. In July, we identified five categories of cases that seemed to be driving COVID-19 employment litigation: (1) alleged failure to provide a safe working environment; (2) discrimination claims, especially relating to disability and age; (3) leave claims under the FMLA and the patchwork of federal, state and local laws enacted to deal with the pandemic; (4) retaliation and whistleblower claims, usually attached to either a workplace safety or leave issue; and (5) wage and hour lawsuits arising out of the pandemics’ impact on business operations.