Trumka Announces Support For Washington Hospital Center Nurses

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka will keynote a strike rally of registered nurses in front of Washington Hospital Center next Friday, March 4, National Nurses United (NNU), the nation’s largest union and professional association of registered nurses, announced Friday. The hospital’s 1,650 registered nurses, members of NNU, will hold a one-day strike beginning at 7A on March 4 to protest management’s refusal to address their concerns on safe patient care, management’s attempt to erode nursing standards, and management’s unfair labor practices. “These nurses are taking a stand for safe patient care and just working conditions, and the entire labor movement stands behind them,” said Trumka.  “I will be proud to walk with them on their picket line as they strike for working conditions that put patients first.” “Working people across the DC area know how committed nurses at Washington Hospital Center are.  When they say there need to be improvements in patient care and nursing standards, we listen to them.  The executives at MedStar Health should too,” he said.  Local unions around Washington, D.C. have begun mobilizing for the March 4 strike. “The 150,000 members of our nearly 200 affiliated unions in the metro Washington area are solidly behind the nurses in their struggle to make Washington Hospital Center not just a decent place to work but an excellent place to seek care,” said Jos Williams, President of the Metro Washington Council, AFL-C IO.  “So many of our members and their family members and friends have been the beneficiaries of the nurses’ dedicated and expert care over the years and we will stand shoulder to shoulder with them in this strike.” - photo by Chris Garlock