To the Journal editor:

People who work in professions who have the very lives of people in their hands should not be required to work 16- and 12-hour shifts.

I remember reading in the paper last Nov. 15 regarding a state audit of the Walter P. Reuther Psychiatric Hospital. Auditor General Doug Ringer’s report said and I quote, “Although we did not identify specific examples impacting the quality of care, the significant amount of overtime hours would likely have a negative impact on the staff’s ability to function effectively.”

Too many hours are a safety concern and the hospital gets an F for that.

In a speech to the American Federation of Labor in New York City on Sept. 17, 1952, President Eisenhower had this to say: “Only a handful of unreconstructed reactionaries harbor the ugly thought of breaking unions. Only a fool would try to deprive working men and working women of their right to join the union of their choice.”

I remember Ike growing up. He was a great president who warned us about many things like the military industrial-complex, public policy becoming captive of the scientific-technological elite and mortgaging the material assets of our grandchildren.

If you have a copy of the Leapfrog report which gave the hospital an A, it would look very nice on the shelf next to Mother Goose fairytales.