Last Friday, nurses from Washington Hospital Center, the largest hospital in
the District of Columbia, went on a one-day strike over patient safety standards
and the pursuit of a fair contract, fighting against cutbacks.
The Washington Hospital Center registered nurses (RNs), totalling over 1,600,
have been represented by National Nurses United since October 2010. The RNs have
been without a contract since April 2010, and MedStar, the corporation that owns
Washington Hospital Center as well as several other hospitals across the U.S.,
is demanding substantial pay cuts, inferior pensions, refusing wage increases
and threatening health care benefits in negotiations.
On March 4, the nurses held a picket line outside the hospital from 6am until
8pm. Over 2,000 participants, including nurses and their supporters, showed up
at the rally in the afternoon.
MedStar called in replacement ?scab? nurses and locked the nurses out of the
hospital for four additional days. The nurses vowed to continue daily picketing
throughout the lockout.
There has been widespread support for the nurses against MedStar, which made
$142 million in profits last year, and has reserves of $1.5 billion.
Striking nurses have received support from other unions, including American
Postal Workers, The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), American
Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), International
Union of Printers and Allied Trades, American Federation of Teachers and
Amalgamated Transit Union.
Speakers at the rally highlighted the national significance of the D.C. nurses?
strike and its ties to workers? struggles in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and
elsewhere in the nation. 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.
District of Columbia residents have reacted against corporate dealings with the
nurses, and the rally saw high-spirited support for working-class people and
plenty of noise. Ten of 13 Washington, D.C., Council members sent a letter to
MedStar telling them to sign a contract with the nurses union.
According to Liberation News, an anonymous source who works at the hospital in a
non-nursing capacity reports a high number of 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 replacement 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. This has meant that nursing
supervisors, directors, assistant directors and clinical care facilitators must
work 12 hours or more to provide what they are calling ?adequate care.?
Around the hospital, MedStar?s actions have been seen as falling short of the
hospital?s motto of being ?clean, safe and friendly,? and demonstrating, rather,
MedStar?s blind dedication to profit.
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.?
Liberation?s source said the replacement ?scab? nurses are receiving other
benefits. The hospital has apparently extended the cafeteria hours for them. 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.?
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.
One picket line nurse told to Liberation News, ?They don?t have to lock us out.
It?s just a ploy.? 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, said the hardships of not having
a contract ?means higher anxiety and it?s not reliable without a contract.? He
noted 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.?