Howard Hospital Workers Demand Negotiations

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Honking car horns echoed along Georgia Avenue yesterday at midday as hospital workers took to the streets to demand fair negotiations with management at Howard University Hospital. Over 50 workers marched along the sidewalk in front of the hospital chanting “No justice, no peace!” as others stood along the edge of the street urging passing drivers to “honk your horn for justice.” “What’s at stake isn’t money” said AFSCME Local 2094 President Lauretta Stevenson of the contract that expired in October of 2010; “it’s collective bargaining...This is an anti-union institution.” Howard University Hospital has said they plan to declare an impasse. Members of DCNA and NNU also turned out to support AFSCME 2094 Howard Hospital workers. “We need to stand together. We are all we have” said NNU’s Mindy Blandon, noting that AFSCME members have turned out in the past to support NNU at previous actions. “We’re here to support AFSCME today because we believe in fair negotiations,” added DCNA’s Ed Smith. DCNA’s contract at Howard expired on June 30 of 2011 and they have been signing one-month extensions since then. AFSCME Local 2094 held a strike vote last November and says they are not looking to strike, but it may get to that point. “[Striking] is a last resort” Stevenson told Union City; “but if it comes to defending our union security, on strike we’ll be." - report/photos by Julia Kann