The lights went out across the northeast and part of the midwest, but it hardly registered a bleep with patients in New York City public hospitals. The anxieties and inconveniences many city residents experienced was kept in check thanks to the hospital workers who toil in relative obscurity behind the scenes to keep the hospital system functioning around the clock.

Although Mayor Bloomberg is insisting on givebacks and that members have to work harder with less for more productivity gains, union members everywhere are themselves insisting they have given all they can and have nothing left to give.

“Local 237 members, from the kitchen to the maintenance staff, are on the job 24-7,” said Business Agent Janie Elliott during a recent visit to members at Metropolitan Hospital in Manhattan.

Mayor Bloomberg, listen up: Local 237 members need a new contract and a decent raise because, as you are fond of saying, New York City workers “are the best workforce anywhere in the world.”