[HSA Strike Dub 2]

Raw footage for HSA Strike 1975. The strike began on October 27th, 1975, and lasted for 18 days—the longest and largest doctors' strike in the US. The strike was organized by the Housestaff Association (HSA), a union of residents and interns. They were protesting against the working conditions and poor facilities at Cook County Hospital, Chicago's only public hospital which mostly served the city's poor and uninsured. In this tape, workers meet to discuss the strike and the future of Cook County Hospital. Also includes footage on the street during the strike.

00:17Copy video clip URL An attendee at the meeting requests that any administrators of Cook County Hospital leave, as it is for employees and citizens. The suggestion is approved and one man leaves. 

01:47Copy video clip URL A man with curly hair and a bushy beard notes the need to stop layoffs. He points out that the house staff is fighting for a new contract but that they are not strong enough to also fight to stop layoffs. 

04:00Copy video clip URL A young woman passionately articulates the need for Cook County Hospital’s services in the community. She discusses prejudice towards the people served by Cook County Hospital, and the needs served by the hospital within the community. The difficulties in obtaining health care for poor people, and for poor women in particular. If the hospital ceases its services, huge numbers of Chicagoans will be without accessible health care. 

13:35Copy video clip URL A man talks about the increasing need for health care due to worker injuries. 

15:40Copy video clip URL Another man points out that Cook is the only non-private hospital in the area. He observes that employees of Cook County Hospital can’t afford to pay for medical care themselves. 

16;55 A woman brings the question of layoffs back up, suggesting starting a coalition to fight them, linking them directly to the effectiveness of patient care. 

20:35Copy video clip URL Another woman says she imagines that doctors would want the best for their patients, but another attendee counters that “these cuts do not hurt them. They hurt us. They hurt as workers. They hurt us as patients.” He explains the ways in which budget cuts are not directed towards doctor or administrator salaries or other budget items that directly affect them before discussing the need to expose the explicit racism of the cuts.

23:14Copy video clip URL Discussion of contracts and the economic crisis. 

23:54Copy video clip URL A man discusses the lack of consideration for workers in the society more broadly. Another man agrees and points out the ways in which the hospital makes unreasonable demands on its workers. He reiterates the need to fight against layoffs. 

26:30Copy video clip URL Close-up of handwritten sign: “H.S.A. Mass Rally 1:30Copy video clip URL PM”

27:35Copy video clip URL Interview with a Latinx woman outside the hospital who emphasizes the need for people to work together. She discusses the difficulties for those who only speak Spanish. 

28:40Copy video clip URL An elderly African American couple, Rev. Charlie Mitchell and his wife, enthusiastically assert their support for the workers’ strike. They’ve marched in support for them before, he says. The videomakers purchase snacks from the couple. 

30:55Copy video clip URL At a rally on the steps outside the hospital, a man addresses the crowd. The video cuts off mid-speech.