SOLIDARITY — PEF Vice President Joe Fox joins PEF nurses and their families on the picket line outside Lockport Memorial Hospital in July. PEF’s LPNs who work at Lockport, and other union members marched in solidarity with striking RN’s represented by United Professional Nurses Association, in their contract dispute with the hospital. — Photo by Caroline Esposito Members laid off as hospital shuts down PEF members caught in strike crossfire at Lockport Memorial PEF members at Lockport Memorial Hospital near Buffalo are caught between a rock and a hard place, as striking nurses in a different bargaining unit have forced the hospital to transfer all of its patients to neighboring facilities. PEF Region 1 Coordinator Joyce Degenhardt reports that 35 of the 120 PEF members at Lockport received pink slips July 13 as the hospital shut down inpatient services after the nurses walked out on July 6. The hospital has kept its outpatient services running. PEF represents LPNs and many other titles at this private facility, that was once owned and operated by the city of Lockport. The hospital’s 127 registered nurses, who are represented by the United Professional Nurses Association, called the strike last week when they were unable to reach a contract settlement with the financially troubled hospital. Many PEF members led by President Roger Benson, Vice President Joe Fox and PEF Region 1 Coordinator Joyce Degenhardt marched with the strikers at a rally on July 6, expressing solidarity with the nurses, whose issues include mandatory overtime. “This strike is about nurses being able to go home after eight hours,” Benson told reporters at the rally. Benson, a vice president of the state AFL-CIO, told the nurses they have the support of the state’s 1.2 million union members. The PEF unit recently ratified its contract with Lockport. A federal mediator has been trying to resolve the contract dispute between UPNA and the hospital. Meanwhile, Degenhardt said PEF continues to voice its support for the striking nurses. — Sherry Halbrook The Communicator Home Page