NEWS & LETTERS, December 2009
Stroger Hospital employees fight cuts
Chicago--The Cook County Health and Hospitals Board is dismantling the public health system. This drastic move is an effort to rid the County of its traditional role as healthcare provider, disguised as a response to its budget crisis.
The Board plans to close all inpatient care at Oak Forest and Provident Hospitals, leaving Stroger Hospital, which is already overcrowded and understaffed, to pick up the slack. At the same time, they have begun to lay off Stroger Hospital's physicians, nurses, social workers and others, with hundreds more layoffs promised. The neonatal and pediatric units at Stroger are scheduled to be permanently closed, as are several outpatient services and clinics.
The supposed mission of the County hospitals and clinics is to provide care to the poor and uninsured regardless of their ability to pay. This principle has been whittled away for years, but it remains a safety net.
We provide care for patients with extremely high rates of unemployment, homelessness, substance abuse, mental illness and histories of incarceration. The vast majority are Black. It is the only place where undocumented immigrants or immigrants not eligible for benefits--because they have not been legal permanent residents for five years--can receive healthcare.
The Board's plan demonstrates that the people served are not considered worthy of life. The workers, who are majority Black, are equally disregarded. In fact, the County hired an army of consultants at over $10 million to spy on the workers and make "scientific" recommendations for cuts. They have also spent millions on contractors to replace us.
William Foley, the new CEO, held two "town hall" meetings for Stroger employees to outline the strategic plan for "restructuring." He made the arrogant mistake of scheduling these meetings the day after the first pink slips went out. Workers denounced the plan and defended their integrity and the dignity of the patients.
One woman asked why her department was being forced to train their own replacements--the contractors. She insisted that the workers are the experts, not the consultants who recommended hiring the contractors. She called for the workers to play the lead role in the decision-making regarding any restructuring and to be able to keep their jobs.
Most workers are unionized, but they're in three different unions that have not worked together. SEIU Local 73 called for a demonstration outside of Stroger Hospital on Nov. 4. The nurses' union, NNOC, refused to take part. It actually scheduled a membership meeting for the same time, thereby preventing the nurses from participating. AFSCME was absent too. The rally was small, although patients walking past joined in.
The three unions appear to be more interested in protecting their own turf than in working together to protect public healthcare and thereby the workers' jobs and dignity. Why should we cede our voices to the union? Why should they determine the level of solidarity we have with each other? At the rally, I felt as silenced by the unions as I do by the Board and CEO. But many workers felt it was better than doing nothing.
--Stroger Hospital worker
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