CSEA Blasts Weschester Med Over Layoffs

VALHALLA – The Civil Service Employees Association, which represents some 900 workers at Westchester Medical Center criticized the hospital administration for its latest round of job cuts.

The hospital maintains it must tighten its fiscal belt like all other businesses and has also outsourced some of the jobs.

Westchester CSEA President John Staino said on Tuesday, subcontracting workers for lower wages could lower the quality of healthcare.

“When you are paying people $10, $11 and $12 an hour, what are you really getting?", Staino asked.  " I don’t want to be disrespectful, but we’re not working at the convenience store, we’re working in a tertiary hospital, a level one trauma center,” he said. “When you get rid of all these nursing aids, what do you get for that kind of money?”

Staino said the hospital laid off over 100 workers on Monday and that came on the heels of 250 nursing aids laid off recently.