Brothers Joshua and Jacob Mobley say their mom brought the decision to strike to the family and together they talked through the pros and cons. Jacob says he was surprised so many nurses voted to strike. He understood the decision and was proud of his mom for making it, but with the unemployment crisis and economic downturn earlier in the pandemic, he was also wary of the risks.
“For such an uncertain time, there's a fair amount of courage and honor that goes into making that decision,” Jacob says, reflecting out loud. “There's a certain amount of new respect I kind of gained for my mom and my dad through this. 'Cause I truly would have never been able to make that decision. There's a lot more that goes into it than just voting for a strike. There's a lot of uncertainty in that situation.”
For Lorelai, that uncertainty has manifested as money concerns. Her father is a disabled veteran and doesn’t have steady employment, so Lorelai’s mom provides the family’s main income. She brought her mounting anxieties to her mom, who reassured her that the family would be okay. To date, the family has made adjustments but is in good spirits.
Ally Stewart, 15, says financial stability was also one of the first things that came to mind when she found out about the strike. Her older brother would be heading off to college soon and she wasn’t sure how her family would cover the related costs. They canceled a summer vacation, tightened up finances, and shifted priorities. Overall, Ally says, it’s been manageable because her father still has a job and can provide a steady income. Still, she says, she had no idea the strike would last as long as it has.
“My mom has been on strike before and she told me that it lasted 45 days. So I was expecting the strike to last around a month, two months — but I never expected it to last over seven months,” Ally says. “[My mom] is really, really strong for putting up with this and picketing for so long [and] being on strike for so long. I've been seeing her really stressed and worrying, but she's just extremely, extremely strong for still going through [with it]. So yeah, I'm really proud.”
The Mobley family has also adjusted to the extended strike, with Josh and Jacob’s dad picking up shifts at work to help make ends meet. “My dad, thankfully, is still employed and he works his tail off every single day for us,” Jacob says. “What's the last stretch he worked? It was, like, 14 days in a row, or something like that. And he works nights too.”
As the online furor picks up around Striketober, it’s easy to forget that the thousands of employees who’ve voted to authorize strikes, to go on strike, or are in the midst of ongoing struggles don’t exist in individual silos. Many of them have families, kids who depend on them, and a matrix of other responsibilities that are weighed and considered alongside the decision to go on strike.
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St. Vincent’s Nurses Are on Strike — This Is What It’s Like for Their Kids - Teen Vogue
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