well, it has been a few days since i have posted. mostly because when i get home i am tired. oh to be young again! ... anyway, yesterday was a pretty interesting day. started out just like any other day on the line, but ended quite differently!. after a huge and great demonstration at the pacific campus. a few of us got arrested for trespassing on hospital property. this was a new experience. not easy getting into a paddy wagon with your hands restrained behind your back. we were in the police station and instead of chanting "i'm fired up, cant take it no more" like we do on the line, i and then we started chanting "i'm tied up cant take it no more". i dont know if we actually got untied earlier, but the time sure passed faster! i am defineately a "humor makes things easier" sort of girl.
also, saw the woman who comes 3 times a week for dialysis that i had met on the line earlier this week. for those of you who didnt read my other blog from before.. this woman touched me because she came up and signed our petetion earlier and supported us when she was sick and having to come to our hospital. anyway, i digress.. she came up to me and said hi again and we had another little chat. looks like it will be a regular event for me and i will look forward to it.
also saw the son of one of the workers who comes with his mom occasionally to the picket line. he went to "show and tell" (or whatever they call it these days) and talked about what it was like to be on the picket line. he also said he showed everybody his picture from the union flyer that someone had took.
was also quite interested when a woman came up to the picket captain and discreetly handed a disposable camera to him with all the pictures used up. she had come from inside the hospital and i am very curious what the pictures are like and about.
well, thats about all for today. catch you later
-- emily stone
Emily,
This is very real. Keep up the good reporting.
bob
Posted by: Bob Muehlenkamp | September 30, 2005 at 08:59 AM
well, things just keep rolling along. sure wish a contract would roll along, but...unfortuneatly, i have heard nothing that makes me think i will. in this case," no news is bad news".
anyway, i digress, ..... after a couple of days off the line i came back and did a cold night shift, working from around 4pm to 11pm. the first thing , and probably the most memorable thing that happened, was that i saw a lab tech that regularly comes over to the inpatient psych unit i work on, to draw blood. i asked him how things were going and he relayed that
that day he had gone to draw blood on a patient in the main part of the hospital and that the patient asked him for help in feeding. he said he felt bad because he was way late as 2 of his lab coworkers had called in sick and he knew that "it would be awhile" before any of the workers got there to feed the patient, so he ended up helping the patient. he said he felt really bad and quite awkward about the situation. so that is my news from the inside.
on the outside, i had 2 vehicles come by and give us food "for you guys". a passing motorist stopped and gave us tofutti, dairy free ice cream sandwiches. a little later one of the trucks, on his way out of the hospital stuck his hand out of the truck, said "want these" and gave us a pile of reeses peanut butter cups. now granted, it would have been nice if he didnt go in ...but it was nice that he gave us the candy and said "good luck to you guys"
very late in the shift a couple of lean young guys came by and asked " whats this all about anyway". i only came in for part of the discussion so dont have many facts on this interaction but did hear that "me and 14 of us quit the other day" ...he was an ex scab security gaurd from florida. sounded and looked like he was ex military,but who knows. anyway, thats all i know about that.maybe someone else can fill in the details.
well, thats all for today. every day i just keep hoping for the breaking news that sutter will "just say yes". really, its crazy. it will have to be settled one of these days w....why not now...WHY WAIT??????SUTTER????
see ya all
Posted by: emily stone | October 03, 2005 at 08:40 AM
hi there folks,
just got home from a day on the picket line. spent a few hours at the main entrance picketing in earnest and then was asked to go down to the "big purple bus" and hand out weekly paychecks to the people. that was a good chance to get to know people, i may have not met otherwise. i am getting to know the people that picket "up on top" pretty well but not everybody is up there.
wnen i came out of the bus i saw a problem going on at the lower entrance of the hospital. this is where most of the trucks and cars come in for delivery of one thing or another. apparently a vehicle had come in and one of the security gaurds actually put his hands on and pushed the child of one of our strikers. i saw the video tape of it afterwords and i have to say it was inappropriate and pretty anger provoking. especially since it was the same security gaurd that gave us attitude last night. i have to say...though the security gaurds are scabs, which i dont like, they have geneerally been appropriate with us and not provacative. this guy, Richard D is routinely threatening and provacative and seems to want to start trouble. really, something needs to be done about him and his attitude!!! we have enough problems being off work and going to our new job "on the picket line". the police and the head union guy got involved and we will see what happens.
now, yesterday was something. it was somewhat of a long day. i missed my usual meeting with the "dialysis lady" who i chat with 3x a week after here treatment. i had gone to move my car so as not to get a ticket. unfortuneately i moved it to a poorly marked spot that was temporarily a no parking zone in the evening and so when i got off the line found that my car had been towed. the "no parking signs" were on scaffolding 4 feet from the curb and way in front and in back of my car and i just did not see tnem . $187.50 and one ride from one of the union guys later i got my car and was on my way home. this was definately not my first choice on how to spend my money. anyway, thats it. SUTTER, JUST SAY YES!!!! and let us get back to work where i belong
Posted by: emily stone | October 04, 2005 at 07:42 PM