Hospital workers, orchestra musicians begin strikes

Cleveland

Healthcare workers at Cleveland Clinic Lutheran Hospital began striking for better pay and working conditions on September 23. At the noon strike deadline, the members of Service Employees Union (SEIU) District 1199 walked out. Dozens of picketers remain stationed at all of the hospital entrances, chanting, “What do we want? Contract. When do we want it? Now!”

“They’re asking us to accept crumbs and work without the protections we deserve, while caregivers are assaulted and threatened on the job. That’s not respect, and it’s not ‘world-class’,” said Brian Higgins, a power plant mechanic and executive board member of the union. (Cleveland19.com, Sept. 25)

Lutheran Hospital is located on Cleveland’s Near West Side.

Two days later, on the opposite side of town, the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra was hit with a strike on Sept. 25. Represented by American Federation of Musicians (AFM) Local 4, players had voted unanimously to authorize a strike if Orchestra management did not agree to acceptable contract terms.

The musicians want a pay scale comparable to that of other orchestras of a similar caliber. Orchestra bosses are proposing that workers pay more for health insurance, which would set them back income-wise with the current rate of inflation and the raises currently being offered.

So far the strike has meant concerts on Sept. 25 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Sept. 26 in Cleveland have been cancelled. More concerts will be affected, including a scheduled European tour, if the strike continues.

Spirits remain strong among both groups of strikers.

Since this article was written the Cleveland Orchestra strike has ended and musicians have a new contract.