Hospital workers brave cold temps for a better contract

HUDSON, N.Y. (NEWS10)—Dozen of 1199SEUI union workers and supports braved the cold Wednesday afternoon picketing in front of the Columbia Memorial Hospital’s ER (CMH). Picketers want lower-cost health insurance and a living wage so they can take care of themselves and their loved ones.

“Treat your staff better,” said Ruth Snow, a PCA at Columbia Memorial Hospital. “We are in the middle of a pandemic, and you send out a massive email saying if we get the virus, we didn’t get it from here. What does that say to your employees here?”

CMH Spokesman William Van Slyke said in a statement:

“We understand the union’s tendency to picket and to make inflammatory public statements. However, the actions of a very small subset of our 1,400 employees do nothing to serve the majority of our staff, and importantly, our patients and the community.”