WHC Nurses Authorize Strike

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

Registered nurses at Washington Hospital Center have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a one-day strike, National Nurses United, the largest U.S. nurses union and professional association, announced yesterday. No date has been set for a walkout at the District’s biggest hospital with 1,650 RNs. The nurses’ vote, which occurred Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, authorizes the Facility Bargaining Council, comprising nurse leaders from throughout the hospital, to call a one-day strike. “The nurses at Washington Hospital Center are fed up with management’s disrespect and its refusal to come to terms with us on the crucial issues of patient care and nursing standards,” said Sara Towald, a WHC RN.  “Management should listen to our warnings that its stance will cause a further deterioration of patient care at our hospital, drive away more experienced nurses, and burn out new nurses.” WHC RNs have been without a contract since last April. NNU has represented the nurses since Oct. 6, 2010. A scheduled strike in November was averted when the hospital recognized the NNU as the nurses’ collective bargaining representative, agreed to start bargaining for a new contract, and delayed implementation of its planned unilateral pay cut for nurses who work evenings, nights, and weekends. Multiple bargaining sessions have been conducted since then with minimal progress and several more are scheduled for later in February. – photo: WHC nurses rally in May 2010; photo by Adam Wright