April 2, 2026 — April is New York State budget time! I want to thank PEF President Wayne Spence and the PEF Legislative Office for their hard work organizing this year’s Nurse Lobby Day. I had a wonderful experience leading a team of young nurses while talking with a good number of legislators.
We advocated for a number of PEF’s budget priorities as well as retiree issues including improving the “diet COLA,” (Cost of Living Adjustment), rejecting a proposal to cut IRMAA, and protecting health care and skilled nursing benefit equity.
My team was very much focused on the issues at their facilities, like staffing, employee safety, and especially fixing Tier 6! These first timers were very knowledgeable about the issues we face at our various facilities and even though they were first timers they handled themselves extremely well. All the legislators we talked to were interested in what was happening in our facilities, especially at the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.
Legislators need to hear from their constituents about what is happening, and it’s our job as union members to educate them about our work and issues. In-district lobbying is very important when it comes to getting your legislators to listen to your concerns. I had a wonderful experience during this year’s Statewide Political Action Committee Nurse Lobby session.
If you have some time, read our submitted legislative testimony by following this link. It’s never too late to write to your legislators, so also take a look at the letter-writing campaigns here.
