Of strikes and lockouts

When the unionized employees at Women & Infants Hospital took to the
picket line for their one-day strike, they threw down a gauntlet,
leaving open the possibility of the lockout that followed. There should
have been no surprise, no indignation. As fair as their one-day strike
was, so was the lockout.
No employees strike – set up a picket line – without the intent of
hurting the other side. No matter the issues, the reality is a strike is
intended to force the other side to move closer to your viewpoint
through an action meant to do them damage.
Thus, when unionized employees expressed indignation when they found
themselves locked out, protesting that patients’ care would be harmed,
it was a hollow statement. What did they intend when they struck
initially?
The strike-lockout may be more over the turmoil within the health care
industry, uncertainty over what a mega merger between Lifespan and Care
New England might mean, than over working conditions and salary. It is
the culmination of frustrations felt not only within the industry, but
with everyone who has had exposure to the health care system of late.
We suggest that what has happened – a strike and lockout – are a
demonstration of failure on both sides, failure to successfully
negotiate the issues, failure to understand the ramifications of their
own actions.