por Charles Augustine
Nurses around the estate of California went on strike for one day to protest against the cuts that put patients in danger.
Throughout California thousands of register nurses (RN’s) took part in a massive one-day strike Thursday September 22. This protest which included more than 23,000 RNs picketing hospitals around the state, resulted from an attempt by Sutter Alta Bates (Berkeley), Kaiser Permanente (Oakland) and Children’s (Oakland) hospital’s, to cut operating expense’s, at the cost of, either reducing patient services or cutting their nursing and caregiver’s staff personnel.
The response of state’s nurse’s, represented by California Nurses Association (CNA) and National Nurses United (NNU), was a resounding and emphatic, “no.”
At issue is: Sutter and other hospital’s administrative policy-makers desire to limit RNs ability to challenge their directives. The nurse’s say, even when it is out of concern, for their patients. They also allege these medical institutions are advocating that RNs show up to work, even when they are ill, hence exposing patients to infections.
RNs also differ with administration’s view on cutting hospital management cost by reducing nurses’ healthcare coverage and retiree health benefits.
Admin point’s out though that the only alternative would be to reduce vital patient care services. Understandably, nurses have a problem with. “They disrespect you by attacking your healthcare, your retirement benefits, your right to advocate for patients; and now they want to force you to work when you are sick. Having sick nurses care for sick patients is sick,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka stated.
CNA Co-President DeAnn McEwen went even further, stating, “When nurses are on the outside, there’s something wrong on the inside.”
She went on to say, “They’re harming patients and we’re standing in the gap.”
Locally, Children’s Hospital RN (of Oakland) Martha Kuhl said, “Nurses will never be silenced, in standing up for patients and our communities or members and our families.”
In contrast, management’s point-of-view, of how the lack of operating cash, might be remedied, the NNU is lobbying for “Taxing Wall Street.” To this end on Sept. 15, 1000 NNU members engaged in a demonstrations statewide.
Locally, a rally took place in front of the Federal Reserve Bank building in San Francisco at Main and Market streets that same day; and followed on the heels of similar actions held by labor and community nationwide. NNU Co-President Deborah Burger, RN points out that taxing Wall Street trading ventures could raise hundreds of billions of dollars.
What started out as a cute chi-chi clique, the notion to tax Wall Street, seems to be on the fast track to becoming a hot new political trend, and as it gains momentum, many Americans are being swept up in its wake; on Sept. 15 NNU got on board. At a speech in San Diego, NNU Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro said, “What we have to say to Wall Street is, you have taken and taken and taken, and you have given nothing back. You have abandoned this country, and you have conabandoned the people. There should be no hungry people in America, and no people without jobs in America.”
Also on board with the concept of taxing corporative institutions is a growing number of homeowners, who are currently finding themselves in a situation that might result in them losing their homes. They too believe financial giants like Wall contribute to the growing number of evictions and home foreclosures by skirting paying its fair share of taxes.
Coinciding with the action that took place in front of the Fed in SF Sept. 15, a coalition of homeowners in San Jose (SJ) calling themselves, “Refund and Rebuild California.”
They then went door to door to make residents of the blighted area aware of this new movement that is underway – to use Taxing Wall Street – as a means of helping to aid the government in digging itself out of the current economic mess the U.S. economy is in.
Their rally cry was, “It’s time to make Wall Street pay” for its short-sighted approach to doing business – that puts profit above all else – even human.
