Labor & Employment Law

Washington Hospital Center Nurses Locked Out

By James Parks

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka marched with nurses on the picket line during their one-day strike March 4.

Nurses at Washington Hospital Center, the largest hospital in the nation?s capital, have been locked out until March 9 following their one-day strike for better patient care last Friday.

The 1,650 nurses, members of National Nurses United (NNU), are protesting management?s refusal to address their concerns about safe patient care, management?s attempt to erode nursing standards and management?s unfair labor practices.

The nurses say the policies of the hospital?s owner MedStar Health have eroded patient care conditions and have prompted an exodus of hundreds of experienced RNs from the hospital. The union estimates that MedStar will spend $5 million to lock its nurses out, money that could better be spent providing better patient care, the union said.

After walking the picket line at the hospital, many of the nurses will show solidarity with other workers by walking the line with UNITEHERE! Local 25 members at the Madison Hotel in downtown Washington, D.C.

A German-based company took over the hotel Jan. 19 and is not accepting the terms of the existing contract with Local 25, which represents 150 workers at the Madison.

The workers are calling on the unions that are headquartered in Washington for support. The Madison, where workers have had union representation for decades, is a popular location for local union events.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on March 07, 2011 (boomark / email).