Dave Senecal moved along the picket line, carefully maneuvering the uneven sidewalk beneath him. Like the nearly 150 others who turned out in the crisp autumn air to picket in front of the Visiting Nurses of Albany Inc. building, Senecal was there in a show of solidarity to support the home health aides and office staff who have been working without a contract since January.

The consequences of this labor battle, he noted, will have a direct impact on his health and future.

"If it wasn't for them, I'd have to live in a nursing home," said Senecal, a quadriplegic who's been receiving home care for the last 27 years.

Seated in his motorized wheelchair, the Albany man rolled back and forth along the picket line with a placard resting on his lap that read, "Merit Pay is a Bone, Not a Bonus."

"It's OK for management to give themselves a raise, but they won't give one" to nursing aides, Senecal said. "They've been without a contract for quite a while. It's not right."

NYSUT Vice President Kathleen Donahue, speaking to pickets, said the home health aides and support staff make the Albany area a better place to live through compassion.

Then, in a comment that drew a loud round of applause, Donahue said, "These workers need to be treated with respect."

Negotiations started in December, said Mary Goyette, president of the Albany Visiting Nurses Association, which represents just under 100 members - one unit for nurses and another unit for home health aides and office support staff. But since May 21, the administration has not budged on its no-raise position for the latter unit.

"All we want is a living salary - something that's fair," said Diane Williams, a union negotiator and home health aide for 12 years.

"It's important we get out and support our fellow union members," said Maryam Mair of the Mohonasen Teachers Association, which this year started a solidarity committee to lend support to other labor unions.

Joining the march, Assemblyman Robert Reilly, D-Colonie, said the union's fight encompasses two of the biggest issues now before the state Legislature: the upstate economy and health care.

"This is about respect and dignity," he said.

- Matt Smith