Blog

I am what stands between you and disaster

An anonymous nurse responds to recent media attacks blaming union nurses for a tragic death at Sutter/Alta Bates-Summit during the five day lockout that followed their one-day strike.

Blog

Everybody likes Robin Hood, right?

Well, almost everybody – weeks after granting NNU a permit for a march to and rally at Daley Plaza, the city of Chicago now wants to change our march route and move the rally from Daley Plaza to Petrillo band shell at Butler Field. Either NNU agrees, or else.

NNU Blog

Menorah Medical Center Contract Win

Nurses in Overland Park, Kansas, were savoring a win this weekend, as they reached agreement with HCA-affiliated Menorah Medical Center. Ratification of the new contract is expected this week in a deal that covers the facility’s 325 RNs. All are members of National Nurses Organizing Committee and National Nurses United (NNU).

NNU Blog

A small sales tax on Wall Street reaps big rewards

One has to wonder if Paul Schott Stevens’ “Don’t enact financial transaction taxes,” December 20, 2012, is more about protecting the turf of billion dollar Wall Street banks and enormous investment firms, including their lucrative mutual fund businesses, than protecting the average people who invest and save.

Health GAP

Time for a Sales Tax on Wall Street Financial Transactions

The reckless actions of Wall Street institutions led to the collapse of the the U.S. economy and the deep recession of 2008-09. The Wall Street firms looted and gambled trillions in worker pensions and mutual fund savings. The Wall Street traders made billions of dollars in speculative money -- bets on bets -- holding hostage the real economy where money is made by providing goods and services. And the actions of Wall Street resulted in the loss of more than 8 million jobs.

By Ralph Nader

HAITI UPDATE: RNRN Supports local volunteers and organizations in Haiti

In our continued commitment to the people of Haiti, RNRN supported volunteer work by local Habitat for Humanity volunteers, and also donated supplies to support the work of Hope House Haiti with children and families decimated by the 2010 earthquake and ongoing economic challenges.

RNRN

Sen. Sanders Senate Hearing on Health Care: Should we consider joining the rest of the world?

Senator Bernie Sanders-VT held the hearing, “Access and Cost: What the US Health Care System Can Learn from Other Countries” on March 11, 2014. Experts testified on single-payer health care systems in Taiwan, Denmark, Canada and France in the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee’s Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging.

Sen. Bernie Sanders

The Underreported Side of the Ebola Crisis

Amid the media accounts of the worst Ebola outbreak ever recorded some significant context is largely missing from the major media reporting. Atop this list are links of the outbreak to the climate crisis and global inequality, mal-distribution of wealth, and austerity-driven cuts in public services that have greatly contributed to the rapid spread of Ebola.

Rose Ann DeMoro, via The Huffington Post

Big Pharma and the Rush to the Latest Dangerous Trade Pact: Part 1 of 2

To get a glimpse of how corporate-oriented trade deals, such as the currently proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership, threaten both the public interest and national sovereignty, take a look at an innovative green energy initiative in Ontario, Canada. In the years following the 2008 global economic crash, Ontario moved forward on a climate action plan billed the “most comprehensive renewable energy policy” in the world. It would provide premium rates for renewable energy for businesses, local governments, and first nations, and a lot of local jobs with a requirement that a minimum percentage of the labor force and materials be local to Ontario. In “This Changes Everything,” her book on the climate crisis, Naomi Klein tells what happened next. Citing World Trade Organization rules, the European Union charged that the buy local provisions would discriminate against non-Ontario businesses. The WTO ruled the local laws were illegal, and the project, the improved local economy and contribution to climate action, were scuttled.

Chuck Idelson

Fresno RNs, Community Members Hold Sit In at Offices of Rep. Costa

Staff members expecting a quiet morning at Rep. Jim Costa’s Fresno office—underestimated what can happen when Congress members vote to endanger public health, with a trade deal that could balloon medication costs, overturn nurse-to-patient ratios, and destroy the environment.

National Nurses United