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WHEREAS, nurses and hospital workers in Pittsburgh have dedicated their lives to promoting healing, putting their lives at risk every day; and
WHEREAS, nurses and hospital workers are proud of the work they do everyday to provide high-quality, compassionate care; and
WHEREAS, nurses and hospital workers have put everything on the line to care for our communities and keep our hospitals running during the pandemic, but they are burned out and exhausted, forced to care for increasingly sick patients with less support and fewer staff; and
WHEREAS, the combination of hospitals overflowing with patients, longer hours, low wages, inadequate staffing, and a lack of voice at work have led to unprecedented levels of burnout, trauma, and increasingly poor mental health; and
WHEREAS, our local hospitals are grossly understaffed: 90% of hospital workers in a recent survey said they do not have enough staff to handle the workload. More than 70% of hospital workers who responded to the survey say they left the bedside due to insufficient staffing; and
WHEREAS, our largest healthcare systems and our city owe it to our nurses and hospital workers to tackle this crisis head on and improve working conditions; and
WHEREAS, with tens of thousands of hospital jobs in Pittsburgh, nurses and hospital workers have a huge impact on our economy and health. With so many of the jobs filled by women and people of color, making sure these jobs are sustainable and that workers have what they need to provide for their families is a critical part of making Pittsburgh a more equitable city; and
WHEREAS, nurses and hospital workers should be honored, supported, respected, and protected; and
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NOW THEREFORE be it resolved, that I, Ed Gainey, Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh and the Council of the City of Pittsburgh do hereby declare Saturday, May 7, 2022 Nurses and Hospital Workers Day here in the City of Pittsburgh. Our nurses and hospital workers have risked everything for us, and now it’s our turn to ensure that our local healthcare systems are investing in retention, ensuring safe standards of care, paying their workers family-sustaining wages, and letting them unionize without interference.
Sponsored by Mayor Gainey