VICTORY!

Thursday morning, at 6:45 am, L+M Corporation unilaterally ended it's illegal Lockout of 800 nurses and techs.

The community had won.

The corporation had lost.

There is still a contract to negotiate, but the hospital can reopen, patients can be treated, and caregivers can do the one and only thing they have wanted to do since the beginning,

treat THEIR patients, whether those patients are at the hospital or shipped to some outside location.

In the 3 weeks of the illegal Lockout the community and the care giver's bond grew stronger and stronger.

There were cookouts on the sidewalk by the building trades, pasta dinners at the Elks, turkeys donated by the Teamsters, discounts at local pharmacies, restaurants and stores, over $65,000 donated to a hardship fund to help put food on the tables and pay for health care when the corporation discontinued the care giver's insurance, and much more.

The solidarity between the workers, politicians, and community grew stronger each time the corporation spouted another lie.

To be sure, there were moments of anguish and fear but instead of dividing, it united, because like any close family, the community stood by the old Labor saying:

Injury to one is injury to all!

Perhaps nothing better shows this solidarity and what motivated this group of dedicated caregivers and their community to stand up to corporate greed, than this video of Santa visiting the children, filmed just hours before L+M corporation gave in.

This is a victory for ALL people of southeastern Connecticut and beyond.

Corporate greed is ruining this country, the people have had it, and we want our country back.

The greed that started on Wall Street has spread everywhere, even to the boardrooms of our not for profit community hospitals and the only thing that can kill this cancer of greed is for the people to stand up against it.

Over the past 3 weeks the community stood up, stood together, and pushed back.

Congratulations to all.

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