Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube

Seven Months on Strike And Still Going — Solidarity with St. Vincent Nurses!

Solidarity with nurses at St. Vincent’s hospital in Massachusetts, who are entering their seventh month on strike.

Left Voice

October 15, 2021
Facebook Twitter Share
Four female St. Vincent nurses walking side by side on a sidewalk. They are holding signs that read "Safe Patient Care" and "Picketing for our patients and our community."
Photo: Jonathan Wiggs/Boston Globe

In March, hundreds of nurses at St. Vincent’s hospital in Massachusetts went on strike. Seven long months later, the strike is still on. The nurses’ demands are all too familiar: like hospitals all over the country, St. Vincent is understaffed, with outrageous staffing ratios that place both workers and patients in danger. In addition, nurses are striking against the terrible Covid-19 safety protocols at the hospital and the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE). 

The bosses at the hospital have been trying to end the strike, offering some concessions. However, the proposed agreement included punitive measures against the strikers and so the workers rightly refused to take it, leading bosses to declare an “impasse.” Undeterred, the nurses continue the strike, heroically fighting for their safety as well as the safety of their patients. 

This strike is currently the longest nurses strike in Massachussetts history and, according to the union bureaucracy, the longest active picket in the U.S. in 15 years. In many ways, this St. Vincent strike was the prologue to what some are calling “Striketober.” Across the country and across industries, workers are beginning to flex their muscles. From Kellogs to IATSE to John Deere, workers are walking off the job to demand more for themselves and their families. These strikes should fill all of us with a fighting spirit. We can beat the bosses if we fight together.

You might be interested in: Healthcare Workers Are Fed Up and Hitting the Picket Lines

We must support the nurses strike at St. Vincent because this fight has the potential to spread to hospitals across the country where nurses and other healthcare workers are still being forced to work in extremely unsafe conditions. These are the workers who fought the pandemic and are still fighting as the bosses and the state rush to reopen the economy, leading to spikes in death and infection rates. The nurses at St Vincent should stay on strike until their demands are met. 

Solidarity with the nurses! Strike for better conditions and safety measures!

Facebook Twitter Share

Left Voice

Militant journalism, revolutionary politics.

Labor Movement

“Our Big Push Was for Union Democracy and a Plan to Win”: An Interview with the Amazon Labour Union Democratic Reform Caucus

Two years after the historic victory at JFK8, Amazon workers voted in a referendum in their union. They want to hold new elections and revise the constitution, as part of a struggle to make ALU more democratic and militant. Left Voice spoke with two organizers to discuss the struggle in ALU.

Luigi Morris

March 20, 2024
A banner reads "Real Wages Or We Strike" at a rally for CUNY, which is experiencing cuts from Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul.

CUNY Faculty and Staff Have Gone One Year Without a Contract — It’s Time to Strike

CUNY workers have been without a new contract for a full year and the university has yet to make any economic offers. It's time to take action.

Olivia Wood

February 29, 2024
Florida governor Ron DeSantis stands at a podium that reds "Higher Education Reform"

U.S. Higher Education Is Being Gutted, but We Can Fight Back

Across the United States, higher education is being gutted through program eliminations and budget cuts. We must prepare to fight these attacks with everything we have.

Olivia Wood

February 28, 2024
CUNY workers at a demonstration hold a banner that reads "STRIKE TO SAVE CUNY."

CUNY Workers Launch New Strike Campaign

As Governor Hochul proposes another $528 million in cuts, workers at the City University of New York are fighting back.

Olivia Wood

February 12, 2024

MOST RECENT

A square in Argentina is full of protesters holding red banners

48 Years After the Military Coup, Tens of Thousands in Argentina Take to the Streets Against Denialism and the Far Right

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Argentina on March 24 to demand justice for the victims of the state and the military dictatorship of 1976. This year, the annual march had renewed significance, defying the far-right government’s denialism and attacks against the working class and poor.

Madeleine Freeman

March 25, 2024

The Convulsive Interregnum of the International Situation

The capitalist world is in a "permacrisis" — a prolonged period of instability which may lead to catastrophic events. The ongoing struggles for hegemony could lead to open military conflicts.

Claudia Cinatti

March 22, 2024

Berlin’s Mayor Loves Antisemites

Kai Wegner denounces the “antisemitism” of left-wing Jews — while he embraces the most high-profile antisemitic conspiracy theorist in the world.

Nathaniel Flakin

March 22, 2024

What “The Daily” Gets Right and Wrong about Oregon’s Move to Recriminalize Drugs

A doctor at an overdose-prevention center responds to The Daily, a podcast produced by the New York Times, on the recriminalization of drugs in Oregon. What are the true causes of the addiction crisis, and how can we solve it?

Mike Pappas

March 22, 2024