On the picket lines with Appalachian nurses

Harry Rodriguez, president of the Lawrence & Memorial Hospital Healthcare Workers Union/ AFT, Local 5123, in New London, Conn., and his vice president, Pat Garcia, spent two days in November traveling through Kentucky and West Virginia to walk the picket lines with nurses at Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) hospitals who have been on strike since Oct. 1. They were part of a caravan of nurses and other health professionals assembled by the AFL-CIO. Rodriguez shares his thoughts on the experience.

November 9
We sing and march around the Appalachian Regional Healthcare headquarters in Lexington, Ky. Several nurses attempt to enter the building to deliver a message from the striking nurses. They cannot reach the office of the CEO on the top floor because the elevator is programmed not to go past the third floor, and the stairwell door is locked from the inside.

"Go outside! I hope you all freeze!" a woman yells from inside the building. As we stand outside chanting union support slogans, an administrator gives us the double finger salute. Welcome to ARH.

Next stop: Middlesboro, Ky. The nurses set up command tents on the sidewalks near their hospital. There are signs, fliers and poster boards with the names of nurses who have crossed the picket lines. We march to the house of an ARH board member, sing songs of solidarity, and ask him to sit and negotiate a fair contract. He pretends not to be home.

In Harlan, Ky., we are met by a group of nurses who hug us with tears in their eyes. I am here to encourage them, but I receive so much more than I give.

On to Hazard, Ky., where it is dark and cold when we arrive, but the spirits of the strikers are high. They have a barbecue going and it is all for us! Talk about a humbling experience. These folks have been on strike for seven weeks, and they are making sure we have food to eat. This is union.

November 10
We make a five-hour trip to Beckley, W. Va., to find a major rally under way. The AFL-CI O is giving out bags of groceries to the strikers, and the state union leaders are there to lend support. We meet with the AFT-West Virginia state federation president Judy Hale. Pat and I are introduced to the nurses as representatives of AFT Healthcare. We walk the picket line with the nurses and share a fire barrel with them to stay warm. It is very cold in Appalachia but there are a lot of warm hearts.