Union Members Rally in Support of St. Michael's Medical Center

More than 200 employees, physicians, patients, community members and local officials joined several labor unions – including JNESO, District 1199J and IUOE Local 68 - for a rally in support of Saint Michael’s Medical Center in Newark on Wednesday.

According to organizers, protesters are fighting keep the medical center open as a full-service, acute-care hospital.

“On behalf of JNESO, representing nurses and technicians at Saint Michael’s, we are so happy to have partners in 1199J and Local 68 in this fight,” said Douglas A. Placa, executive director for JNESO District Council 1.

According to organizers, in addition to thousands of petitions urging to keep the medical center open, Saint Michael’s has also received an outpouring of support from local clergy leaders and community leaders, as well as supporting resolutions from the Newark City Council, Belleville Municipal Council and the Essex County Board of Freeholders.

“When I heard that Saint Michael’s could possibly be shut down, I was outraged… outraged as a citizen, outraged as a person who uses the facility, outraged as someone who knows firsthand that this is top-notch medical care that our community needs,” said Britnee N. Timberlake, Essex County Freeholder President. “Furthermore, I’m outraged because [the hospital] is home to 1,400 employees. I stand flat-footed and say that we must save and we must keep Saint Michael’s.”

“I’m a Newark resident... I live not even two miles from here, and I shouldn’t have to drive from there to all the way across town or to another city to get medical care,” attested Charles Hall, President of RWDSU Local 108, an International Vice President of the United Food and Commercial Workers, and the Chair of Working Families United for New Jersey, Inc.

To view the petition to save Saint Michael’s Medical Center, visit www.savesmmc.com, or call 1-844-KEEP-SMMC.

Photos courtesy of Cathy Toscano

Photo captions: Union members rally in support of Saint Michael’s Medical Center in Newark on Wednesday.

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