Unionized nurses at University Medical Center began a two-day strike on Tuesday (July 15), alleging that hospital administrators retaliated against two nurses who were active in the union by firing one and disciplining the other. It is the union’s fourth time striking in less than a year.
Mike Robertshaw, previously a leading voice in negotiations with LCMC Health, the private nonprofit that manages the hospital, was terminated late last month from his position in the burn intensive care unit. The union rallied in June to protest the hospital’s move to terminate him after he left non-scheduled medication for a patient to take after they woke up from a nap — a decision that would normally receive a low-level warning, if any, the union said.
The protest took place outside of the hospital on Canal Street. LCMC did not respond to a request for comment on the reasons for Robertshaw’s termination and the union’s claims of retaliation…