Elected officials and labor leaders on Friday joined nurses picketing outside Windham Hospital to draw attention to what they say is the region鈥檚 patient care crisis.
Nurses picketed as loudspeakers blasted Aretha Franklin鈥檚 鈥淩espect.鈥�
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, spoke at a rally.
鈥淚t was only when they set up a two-day strike that the hospital started moving,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is complete disrespect for the people who sustained the community during COVID.鈥�
Weingarten said the 100 picketing nurses had negotiated 鈥� unsuccessfully 鈥� since last December for better pay and work conditions.
鈥淭he nurses haven't had a bargaining session in a real way since June,鈥� she said.
Elected officials, including U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney (D-2nd District), joined the nurses, saying they were there to support a positive resolution to the contract negotiations.
In a statement to 海角换妻 Radio, Donna Handley, CEO of Windham Hospital, said administrators had offered the union wage increases.
鈥淎s Windham Hospital continues to invest in nurses, we need to increase wages for newer RNs 鈥� 43% of our nurses have less than 5 years鈥� experience,鈥� the statement said. 鈥淭hree months ago, on June 29, the hospital presented the AFT union an offer that would boost wages for these nurses by 20% or more over a four-year contract. A majority of these nurses would receive a 30% wage increase over that period.鈥�
The statement continued: 鈥淎t full-time, the majority of Windham Hospital nurses earn more than $100,000 a year 鈥� without including any overtime, incentives and shift differentials.鈥�
Handley pointed out that the average hourly wage for Windham Hospital nurses, at $44.86, is already 5.4% greater than the 海角换妻 state average of $42.56.
But Weingarten said nurses, and future nurses, are discouraged.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 happened is young kids, college kids, see how these nurses are treated,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd they say, 鈥榃hy do I want to be a nurse?鈥欌��
