Community organizers rallied Feb. 29 over a lack of jobs at Yale-New Haven (Conn.) Hospital, according to a New Haven Register report.
The organizers were demanding more local jobs at the hospital. New Haven Rising, a citywide grassroots organization that led the rally, said more local jobs could help relieve the jobs crisis in New Haven, according to the report.
"There is a jobs crisis in this city and we're calling on our largest employers to do more," the Rev. Scott Marks, with New Haven Rising, told the New Haven Register. "We are asking them to step to the plate and work with us to move this crisis beyond this city."
Last December, Yale University in New Haven promised to hire 1,000 local residents over three years, targeting New Haven's "most vulnerable neighborhoods," according to the report. Now, community organizers are calling on Yale-New Haven Hospital to increase the number of hires from people living in "neighborhoods of need."
Vincent Petrini, senior vice president for public affairs at Yale-New Haven Hospital, told the New Haven Register while the hospital supports hiring local residents, the state has slashed its Medicaid payment, increased its taxes to $182 million a year and now restricted its growth with an executive order issued last week by Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
Therefore, "We're frankly more concerned about preserving the exceptional jobs we provide than (making) guarantees about the future," he said, according to the report.
Mr. Petrini also noted that last year the hospital hired 600 city residents and has 3,000 on its payroll.
This is not the first time New Haven Rising has spoken out about jobs at the hospital. A protest in December over a lack of local jobs at the hospital led to 134 people being arrested.
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