Nurses Strike Washington Hospital Center

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)

“Get your picket signs, get your red-hot picket signs!” Organizers distributing armfuls of picket signs were quickly left empty-handed as Washington Hospital Center nurses went on strike at the stroke of the clock at 7 a.m. this morning. As dawn broke, hundreds of nurses – including many who had just finished their overnight shift – massed at First and Irving streets to begin their one-day strike over patient safety and contract issues. Chanting “What do we want? Contract! When do we want it? Now!” the striking nurses – members of National Nurses United -- marched up First Street and down Hospital Center Drive, ignoring orders to “Turn back! Turn back!” from flustered hospital security guards while television news cameras captured the moment. Taking up positions right outside the hospital, hundreds of nurses chanted “Hey hey ho ho, unsafe staffing has got to go!” as hospital administrators frantically scurried about trying to get them to leave. Eventually, the nurses agreed to move the main picket to Irving Street but left behind a contingent of twenty picketing nurses on Hospital Center Drive. - Chris Garlock