Blog

Accept No Substitutes

As the House Ways and Means Committee prepares to hold an influential hearing Wednesday on HR 1384, the Medicare for All bill authored by Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Debbie Dingell, with 112 House cosponsors, news reports remind us every day of why the bill is so necessary.

Bonnie Castillo, RN, Executive Director of National Nurses United

Urgent Appeal from Japan's RNs and Other Medical Unions

In the wake of the devastating earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident that hit northeastern Japan this month, Japanese nurses and other medical workers are requesting donations to help with the recovery effort for the embattled nation.

Japanese Federation of Medical Workers’ Unions

Making Ourselves Sick with Their Worry? Not Any More

For some time now, my disabled and retired machinist husband has watched with amusement when stock markets crash and rebound and broad financial indicators stutter and stammer. He has lived a lifetime of economic stress and difficulty and never once has he seen his personal wealth or lack thereof be of any great concern for those who trade and win and lose large sums of money in our world.

Blog

I Dreamed About My Cancer Docs Last Night

My sleep was restless last night except for the snippets of scenes where I was being tended to by my cancer doctors from some time ago. In those dreams they cared for my body and comforted my fears as we worked together to overcome my illness. Of course time had changed things a bit and their offices were interwoven with the sweet things only dreams can infuse, but it sure was nice to revisit a time in my medical life when the system was even a little less broken than it is today. Don’t get me wrong, the bills were crushing then and some of the barriers daunting, but the slide to an even more difficult healthcare system for patients and our providers continues and deepens.

NNU Blog by Donna Smith

Gold medal coverage for our athletes? Not for them – or Aurora victims, or so many others

It’s been one month, almost exactly, since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act. But almost every day provides a fresh reminder of the need to go much farther to permanently fix our broken health care system.

NNU Blog

Ralph Nader on a simple way to avoid the fiscal cliff: Tax stock trades

In the debate over the “fiscal cliff,” President Obama and congressional Republicans have returned to the proposals that they were sparring over before the election. They remain at odds over key elements of revenue and spending. Yet both sides are unwilling to consider a minuscule tax on financial transactions that could be a major source of income.

Ralph Nader Blog

Collusion on charity care abuse just the latest

SEIU-UHW’s Dave Regan’s sordid scorecard: ‘We are proud of it and would do it again’ says Regan of his attack on ratios. RNs across California who work side by side with SEIU-UHW members are probably already aware of the sweeping concessions Regan and his coterie have signed with hospital managers.

California Nurses Association

For This Labor Day We Need a Main Street Contract for the American People

In 1963, labor was at its apex of strength, as evidenced just two years later with enactment of another signature reform in America, Medicare and Medicaid, the direct result of a campaign led by unions and active and retired union members.

National Nurses United

RNs Protest Management's Efforts to Undermine Patient Care at St. Rose Hospital in Hayward

The Registered Nurses at St. Rose Hospital in Hayward conducted a candlelight vigil today to protest management's stalling in negotiations for a first contract and refusing to address issues that are fundamental to quality patient care. In December 2012, after several years of mismanagement at St. Rose, the RNs voted to affiliate with the California Nurses Association. Since that time, RNs have actively sought to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement that preserves some of their existing standards, and also improves them so that RNs can provide the best patient care. The nurses and their bargaining team have focused on standards that also address the retention and recruitment of experienced RNs.

California Nurses Association

San Diego RN speaks out for dignity of migrant children

San Diego RN and California Nurses Association/National Nurses United member Lisa Rainford joined with area civil rights and human rights activists July 22 in calling on Escondido, Ca. city officials to reverse a decision to block the opening of a closed nursing home as a shelter to temporarily house refugee migrant children.

California Nurses Association/National Nurses United