Thousands of nurses gathered in downtown Washington on Thursday, May 12 to protest their current working conditions, including staffing shortage, wages, and workplace violence.
Nurses from around the nation were joined by healthcare professionals and supporters. Demonstrators marched along Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, before holding a rally at Audi Field.
The National Nurses March, a nurses organization behind the march, was established in January 2022 and has reached more than 200,000 members on its Facebook page.
Nurses on the march through Washington. pic.twitter.com/bWcFr3fMnY
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) May 12, 2022
The group lists its main objectives as:
- Fair realistic wages; including no caps
- Safe staffing (nurse to patient) ratios
- No violence against healthcare workers
- Change the culture of the biases and discrimination in the nursing profession
“The mission of the National Nurses March is to enable nurses to provide quality care without worrying about being overworked, underpaid, or hurt by violence on the job,” Veronica Marshall, founder of National Nurses March, said in a press release.
“What better way to honor nurses during National Nurses Week, than to support nurses’ needs for safer workplaces, fair wages, and eliminating discrimination and criminalization in the nursing profession?” said Ashley Hughes, co-organizer of the march.
More demonstrations from various nurses’ organizations are expected in the District in the coming weeks.