"We'll Be There" For Nurses, Delegates Pledge

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

As TV cameras rolled, Metro Council delegates at last night's meeting pledged "We'll be there!" at Friday's nurse's noontime rally at Washington Hospital Center. Geri Lee (at right), who got her job back in December after being fired during the historic snowstorms last year, led a delegation of WHC nurses who reported on their determination to "take the next step" and stage a one-day strike Friday to win a contract after continued "foot-dragging" from WHC management. "We're the backbone of this hospital and we're sick and tired of being pushed around," said Lee to cheers from the delegates as the meeting was filmed by news crews from channels 5 and 7. The fundamental issue of union-busting - WHC had to be forced to even recognize NNU as the nurse's union - linked the struggle for a contract at WHC with the ongoing battles in Wisconsin and elsewhere over bargaining rights, Lee and NNU's Ken Zinn reported. - Chris Garlock; photo by Adam Wright