Workers rally at Maimonides Hospital after dozens of employees were laid off.

Members of 1199 SEIU say over Thanksgiving some 117 workers were given pink slips.

A hospital spokesperson says the move was for economic reasons, citing flat or declining government reimbursement rates and the rising costs of providing health care.

Still, protesters say they feel management hasn't considered the effect it will have on patient care or their livelihoods.

"We all have families. We have little children. We have mortgages, we have rent and we have to put food on the table for our families," said one worker. "If we lose our jobs we got nothing."

The union says other, non-union workers are scheduled to be laid off next month.