Nurses, techs, and other caregivers at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London are sounding the alarm: understaffing has gotten so bad that it's putting patient care at risk. Roughly 100 people rallied outside the hospital this week, with workers saying resignations across nursing, tech, and cleaning staff have piled up in recent years without being fully replaced, leaving remaining employees stretched thin whenever a coworker is out sick or on vacation.

"Let's be clear: in a hospital, working conditions are patient care conditions," said Stuart Savelkoul, chief of staff for AFT CT, the union representing many of these workers. Katelynne Pluss, an emergency room nurse and vice president of the hospital's nurses union, put it plainly: "They've been cutting back, cutting back. They're not replacing the people who are leaving."

Lawrence + Memorial is owned by Yale New Haven Health, one of Connecticut's largest hospital systems, and is currently negotiating new contracts with three unions representing more than 2,100 employees. Workers say even basic supplies, like tape and IVs, have been downgraded in ways that look like cost-cutting at their expense.

This isn't a partisan issue. State lawmakers and Connecticut's Attorney General showed up to back these workers, because safe staffing protects everyone who walks through the hospital's doors, staff and patients alike.

Yale New Haven Health's leadership can fix this right now, at the bargaining table, by committing to safe staffing levels and fair pay that keep experienced caregivers on the job.

Sign the petition to demand Yale New Haven Health guarantee safe staffing and fair pay for Lawrence + Memorial Hospital workers, before more resignations put patients at risk.