Statement re H1N1 Vaccinations from Judith Arroyo,
President of Local 436, District Council 37

“This is one of those times when you really don’t want to be right.

“Time and time again, we urged the City to listen to input from the nurses and their supervisors in the field. Their years of experience in their various schools give them insight into what would and would not work in their unique situations. We also urged the City to draw on the protocols for previous mass inoculations, like the one for Hepatitis B.

“Nurses and their supervisors warned the city over and over again that ordering nurses to vaccinate 10 and 15 kids without any help while juggling the daily string of bumps, bruises and boo-boos that come into their offices is an accident waiting to happen. They suggested the City schedule vaccinations for evenings and weekends so parents could be present and minimize mishaps, provide necessary information and calm frightened children.

“The City did not listen. Now our nurses are struggling to make the best of a difficult situation.”

District Council 37 is New York City's largest public employee union, with 125,000 members and 50,000 retirees.