Nurses at Delaware County Memorial Hospital wrapped up their two-day strike yesterday.
But don't look for them to be back on the job today.
That's because Prospect, the company that bought the Crozer system, had to bring in replacement workers to keep the hospital running. In doing so, they had to guarantee them several days of work, so it is likely that union members will not be back on the job this morning after spending Sunday and Monday manning picket lines outside the hospital on Lansdowne Avenue in Drexel Hill.
The same thing happened during a short strike by staff at Crozer Chester Medical Center in Upland a few years back. The union refers to it as a lockout; the hospital disagrees.
The two sides appear to be unchanged in their stances.
The union claims the hospital continues to be dangerous understaffed.
Prospect says the staffing situations are exactly the same and the strike is really about salaries.
There is a glimmer of hope.
The pre-eminent deal maker in the region was at the site Sunday. That would be Democratic U.S. Rep. Bob Brady. Whenever there is a union problem in the region, you can usually find Brady in the middle of things, trying to either avoid a strike or bring the two sides back to the bargaining table.
He was joined by a Republican, Upper Darby Mayor Tom Micozzie. Both men are urging the two factions to go back to the negotiating table.
We'll see where that gets them.
We'll put our money on Brady and Micozzie.
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