Nurses Face Firings, Suspensions Amid Union Drives

Nurses and labor allies are demanding the reinstatement of Sarah Dowd, a Kings County Hospital union vice president suspended without pay and barred from NYC Health + Hospitals facilities after making rounds to discuss staffing and workers’ contract rights. NYSNA members say the suspension was retaliation for protected union activity and advocacy over chronic understaffing and patient safety; the hospital had not filed specific charges against Dowd, according to the union. Separately, nurses at Central Maine Medical Center have faced firings and suspensions as they organize a union, prompting labor groups and local officials to call the actions retaliatory and demand the nurses’ reinstatement. CMMC says its employment decisions were based on conduct affecting patient care and denies targeting employees for union activity.