Get Me PPE – Cook County Healthcare Workers at Stroger Hospital Stage Protest

*UPDATE – Note from Dian Palmer, SEIU Local 73 President*

Hi SEIU Brothers and Sisters,

First of all I would like to congratulate you on a powerful action last Thursday. Because of your stance WE WON. Went from no paid sick days to 10 regarding COVID-19 related sickness. The fight is not over. Our demand for PPE and hazard pay continues.

You were front and center to showcase your strength, unity and power as a group of critical care workers, but make no mistake, I and other leaders of your union were there, and will continue to support and provide strategic guidance. We plan to have conference calls this week to follow up.

The world heard you on Thursday. Congratulations and let’s keep up the fight.

Dian Palmer, President

Front-line Cook County healthcare workers, represented by SEIU Local 73, at Stroger Hospital today joined the GetMePPE National Day of Action, the one-day protest by healthcare workers during the COVID-19 crisis, to demand the federal government to deploy its full force and power to get more Personal Protective Equipment and ventilators in the hands of healthcare workers immediately and to make sure that workers at the County Jail, Cermak, Stroger and Provident have the right PPEs and that they are being used correctly to protect their health and the health of those around them.

During a shift change, the front-line workers, following social distancing guidelines, protested outside Stroger Hospital and called on the Trump administration to drive a coordinated, transparent national response — using the full power of the Defense Production Act — to procure, produce, and provide PPE to all healthcare workers. They also voiced their demand that Cook County Health and Hospital System provide 80 hours of paid sick time and paid FMLA to healthcare workers, universal COVID-19 testing, and hazard pay for low wage workers on the frontline who are taking risks in order to provide care and service to others.

“County hospital workers are some of the most vulnerable, and they absolutely need to be protected. When we are protected, it helps ensure that the people we serve are protected, as well. We come to work each day because our most crucial priorities are the patients that walk through our doors,” Tyrone Hawthorne, Ward Clerk at Stroger Hospital and SEIU Local 73 Steward speaking at the protest.

The #GetMePPE Day of Action is part of the Protect All Workers national demand driven by front-line workers from across the service sector — including healthcare workers and caregivers, janitors, security workers, fast-food cooks and cashiers, and beyond — who, even as this pandemic grows, risk their health and safety to provide medical care and in-home care, clean and protect offices, homes and airports, and feed our communities.

“We believe that poor people, the uninsured and the undocumented deserve the same standards of care as those who are rich and those with insurance. We call on Governor Pritzker to use Federal Funds to provide additional support to our public hospitals and other safety net hospitals in our community,” said Dian Palmer, SEIU Local 73 President.