Nurses from Washington
Hospital Center, the largest hospital in the District of Columbia,
carried out a one-day strike on March 4 for a fair contract and
patient safety.
MedStar, the corporation
that owns Washington Hospital Center and several other hospitals
across the country, retaliated against the striking workers by
calling in replacement “scab” nurses and locking the workers out
for four additional days.
The nurses have pledged to
continue daily picketing throughout the lockout.
The over 1,600 RNs at the
Washington Hospital Center have been represented by National Nurses
United since October 2010. They have been without a contract since
April 2010, and MedStar is demanding substantial pay cuts, inferior
pensions, refusing wage increases and threatening health care
benefits in negotiations.
MedStar made $142 million
in profits last year, and has reserves of $1.5 billion.
Community shows support
On March 4, the nurses
held a picket line outside the hospital from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Over
2,000 people, including nurses and their supporters, participated in
a rally in the afternoon.
The striking nurses
received broad support from other unions, including American Postal
Workers, AFGE, AFSCME, International Union of Printers and Allied
Trades, American Federation of Teachers and Amalgamated Transit
Union. Speakers emphasized the national significance of this strike
and its ties to the militant workers’ struggles in Wisconsin, Ohio,
Indiana and across the country.
Speakers at the rally
included Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO; Jos Williams,
president of the Metropolitan Washington Council (AFL-CIO); Margaret
Shanks, RN, president of the District of Columbia Nurses Association;
and the Rev. Graylan Hagler, Senior Minister of Plymouth
Congregational United Church of Christ in Washington, D.C.
The nurses have broad
popular support, as people in the District and across the country
react to the corporate assault on working-class people. The chanting
and speeches at the rally were punctuated by a steady stream of
honking cars lending their loud support. Ten of 13 Washington, D.C.,
Council members sent a letter to MedStar telling them to sign a
contract with the nurses union.
Report from inside
A source who works at the
hospital in a non-nursing capacity and asked to not be identified by
name reported to Liberation News
that there is a record high amount of these agency “scab” nurses
within the hospital. “They [MedStar] never supply us with nurses
when we are short a nurse, but when there is a strike there is a
plethora or free nurses. … It’s not right. They don’t take care
of us or the patients correctly.”
Many of these agency scab
nurses are not certified or trained in the various fields that are
covered by the hospital, such as LVAD certification, CHF Solutions
education and other vital methods of care. As a result, nursing
supervisors, directors, assistant directors and clinical care
facilitators must work 12 hours or more to provide what they are
calling “adequate care.” This in no way keeps up the hospital’s
motto of being “clean, safe and friendly,” and in fact this
negligence and lack of concern for their patients and employees shows
how much Washington Hospital Center and MedStar are dedicated to
nothing but profit.
The same source also told
Liberation News that
the hospital has extended the cafeteria hours for the scabs. The
cafeteria usually opens at 6:15 a.m. and closes at 8 p.m., but now it
is open until 2 a.m. One nurse said: “This is outrageous! Regular
nurses are forced to eat an unhealthy dinner at the Blimpies located
on the ground floor, while they [the scabs] receive a wider variety
of choices for their meal? This is a clear statement on how much
MedStar actually cares about its workers.”
On the picket line
Many nurses on the picket
line were reluctant to give their names, perhaps due to fear of
management retaliation, but they had a lot they wanted to express.
“They don’t have to
lock us out. It’s just a ploy,” one told to Liberation
News. She was joined by a co-worker, who
said: “I came into nursing because it was something I believe in.
It is a calling. … They [MedStar] should have some sense of
responsibility and loyalty to us. This is a no-win situation for
everybody.”
Mike, a senior nurse with
30 years experience, told Liberation News
that the hardships of not having a contract “means higher anxiety
and it’s not reliable without a contract.” He noted benefit cuts
hurt everyone, but that “the longer you’ve been here, the larger
the benefit cuts.” He expressed solidarity with newer nurses,
saying “I’m very happy to see the junior nurses, because I was a
junior nurse when I started.”
Patient safety was a
primary concern, with management cutting the numbers of nurses in
order to maximize profits. Among the picket signs were “Washington
Hospital Center: Put Patients Before Profits” and “On Strike for
Safe Patient Care.”
The Party for Socialism
and Liberation stands with the nurses of Washington Hospital Center
as well as workers everywhere in hopes that we will one day live in a
society that is truly run by and for the people!
