What do we want? Fair Wages. When do we want it? Now!

Even striking isn’t done the same here as it is in St. Louis. Obviously there are distance restrictions that dictate how far from an entrance someone can be when protesting or striking. In a city like New York, a far distance from the facility entrance could very possibly be closer to your bedroom window or more specifically, mine.

I’ve never been a union worker, never been on strike – I did however cross a picket line to go to work at a hospital when the nurses were striking (they were OK with it, I assure you). I can’t sympathize with the PM Construction team from Beth Israel Medical Center and after their behavior during the month of August; I can’t empathize with them either. While I have no idea what it’s like to strike, I can appreciate the desire to be paid what the rest of the night construction crews at other hospitals are getting paid. With that being said, is it really necessary for me to wake up 3 times a week to 30 men shouting and blowing whistles for 3 minute intervals? I’d stop and ask you the following questions but I’m afraid with your ear plugs in your ears, you won’t hear me. Perhaps you can scrounge up a pair of those for me after you address my following concerns. Are you fighting me? Do you really think the controller up in the Beth Israel building can hear your shenanigans once he passes you to get into his cushy office? He can’t. I’m willing to guarantee this – I will bet you a years worth of uninterrupted sleep on this. You might wonder how I know this; I know this because I was a witness to 4 of the 7 years of the ongoing Congress Hotel strike. They managed to stay off of my hit list by quietly pacing back and forth in front of the hotel in protest. Even Obama can’t help them, he’s protested twice with him, America, that should have been our first indication he wasn’t the man for the job but that’s a topic for another day. This is about Beth Israel and their PM construction crew.

If you want my advice, perhaps there are other methods you can use to drive home your point. The shiny black coffin strategically placed by your team near the entrance of the hospital has probably proven effective, no?

Fall in Love with New York -- in the movies...

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I have high expectations for fall in New York transforming my life from mundane to a replica of the movie, ‘You’ve Got Mail’ – complete with cashmere turtle necks, sweater sets and tights. I know this fantasy is unrealistic, I’m going to feel slightly let down when October 1st rolls around and I don’t wake up in a brownstone on the Upper West Side expertly appointed with shabby chic furnishings and Laura Ashley fabrics. I’m still going to go to sleep each night and hope but, while I do that, I’ll be watching other movies set in New York, don’t expect a post begging me to wake up on the set of, “The Taking of Pelham 123”…

[New York Movies I’m going to Love]

• Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
• Arthur – I can’t wait for the remake starring Jennifer Garner and Russell Brand
• Ghost
• Curly Sue
• When Harry Met Sally
• StepMom
• Unfaithful
• Kate and Leopold
• Big
• Cruel Intentions
• Miracle on 34th St.
• Sex and the City
• Eloise
• Serendipity
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s
• Maid in Manhattan – Gotta love a movie that includes New York and Weimaraners
• Manhattan
• Two Weeks Notice
• As Good As It Gets
• Elf
• Definitely, Maybe
• Autumn in New York
• P.S. I love you
• Bride Wars
• The Devil Wears Prada
  

[Shows I will Love]

• Will and Grace
• Mad About You
• Mad Men
• Seinfeld