Media Advisory
May 27, 2011
 
Call for New Agenda, a Main Street Contract for the American People
Say Wall Street Should Pay for Rebuilding Nation and Healing America
   
Hundreds of registered nurses from 31 states, joined by labor and community allies, will gather outside the White House, picket the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and rally near Congress Tuesday, June 7 to call for a new, “Main Street Contract for the American People.”
 
The gathering, sponsored by National Nurses United, the nation’s largest union and professional association of nurses, will propose a program for rebuilding American communities with jobs, healthcare, education, and other urgent needs, funded through a fair tax policy targeted at those on Wall Street who created the economic crisis. Nurses will emphasize that theme with a spirited protest at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce headquarters.
 
In addition to proposing legislative solutions, the RNs will describe specific experiences faced by their patients and families, stories of severe hardship stemming from the continuing economic crisis in America today.  The RNs will outline plans for a national campaign to promote changes in national priorities in Washington and state capitals.
 
Among those scheduled to address the nurses are AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders and Barbara Boxer (authors of two NNU-sponsored bills), and other legislators and community leaders.

What: RNs to Rally in Washington D. C.
When: Tuesday, June 7

Schedule:
8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
Conference with speeches by Trumka and legislators
Washington Marriott Wardman Park, 2660 Woodley Road NW, Washington D. C.
 
11:00 a.m.-11:45 a.m.
Rally at Lafayette Square/Picket at Chamber of Commerce
1615 H Street NW, Washington D.C.
 
12:15 p.m.-1 p.m.
Rally with speeches by Senator Boxer, Senator Sanders
Upper Senate Park, 200 New Jersey Ave NW, Washington D.C.

Following the rally opposite Congress, the nurses will move into the Capitol for legislative visits.
 
“We need an alternative vision, and an alternative program in America,” said NNU Co-president Deborah Burger, RN. “As the polls and recent special elections have clearly shown, the American people do not want more cuts in most safety net programs, and they have had enough of ‘shared sacrifice’ that places all the burden on the families who have already suffered far too much.
 
“Nurses see the fallout every day, and we are ready to chart a new course for a better life for all Americans,” Burger said.