TOWN OF WALLKILL – Nurses who are members of 1199SEIU joined colleagues across the country on Thursday for silent vigils at healthcare facilities in the Hudson Valley.
At one such rally at Orange Regional Medical Center in the Town of Wallkill, the nurses stood silent for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the time that George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis two weeks ago. Four former police officers have been charged in connection with death.
Union organizer Angela Lane said the vigils were to remember all black people who have been the victims of police brutality.
“To bring awareness to all the other victims that have passed away due to nothing that they did wrong. This is more than just a racial issue, this is a social issue,” she said.
Nurses also held similar vigils at hospitals in Kingston, Port Jervis, Poughkeepsie, Valhalla, Beacon, Carmel, Hudson and Harris.
