Cathy Robertson

Registered Nurse / Columbia Memorial Hospital / Hudson, NY

Cathy Robertson, RN, a negotiating committee member at Columbia Memorial Hospital (CMH), says staying positive in the six-month struggle for a contract at the institution has not always been easy.

“Management’s attitude makes us as workers feel like we are expendable, like we are not worth anything,” says Robertson. “But we believe we are not expendable. The community needs us and this hospital.”

Robertson says workers have enjoyed tremendous community support in their struggle with CMH.  “This community has come to us every time we’ve reached out to them,” she says.

That was evident when many civic and political leaders from around New York’s Hudson Valley spoke at a June 24 march and rally in support of CMH workers’ fight for a fair contract.

Even more important, says Robertson, is the strength of the tens of thousands of 1199ers who may be called upon to rally in Hudson once again, should the employers continue to refuse to bargain in good faith.

“I know our brothers and sisters are behind us and we can’t ask for anything more than to be unified like this, ” says Robertson. “I know we can accomplish anything we set our minds to.”