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As picketing nurses marched outside Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Dr. Ray Scallen, a retired physician who supports them, sat encamped in a lawn chair along W. 28th St.
“I’m supporting these nurses 1,000 percent. They’re the heart and soul of the hospital,” said Scallen, age 90, who worked 60 years at Abbott Northwestern. “Anything I can do to help them, I will.”
Nurses walking by called out to him: “Thank you, Dr. Scallen” and “Nice to see you, Dr. Scallen, thank you for supporting us.”
“This is the third [strike] I’ve done,” said Scallen, a World War II veteran.
“What this is really about is busting the union. If they can do that, they’ve got complete control of the nurses,” he said.
“Nursing is tops in this hospital,” Scallen said, “the best in the city.” He added: “I want to keep it that way . . . I’ve known most of these nurses for many years. They’re wonderful, wonderful people. I don’t want them to lose their union — that’s what this is all about.”
“You figure out what it’s costing this corporation to bring in scab nurses, feed them, house them,” Scallen urged a reporter.
“We miss him. He always supported us,” said striking nurse Vishakha Patel, Andover.