Most of the city unions supported Giuliani's successful reelection bid last year. Meanwhile, the number of city jobs has declined. Giuliani pulled out the 1,000 WEP employees working in the hospital system as a tactical response to the unions' lawsuit, a move that deepened the crisis in the public hospitals. The president of that local, James Butler, balked at the agreement calling off the lawsuit when he discovered that virtually all the laid-off hospital workers would be reassigned to city jobs outside his local's jurisdiction. The World Socialist Web Site interviewed Ms. M. Alexander, a Harlem Hospital registered nurse for five years.
Nobody knows what is going on.
I have not received a pink slip yet, but I may be receiving one shortly. I work in the critical care department, which is itself in critical shape. We are severely understaffed, and there are rumors that there will be more layoffs in July. With only five years on the job I have very low seniority, and will very likely receive a pink slip. Due to the shortage of personnel, I am forced to work a lot of overtime.