News

Nurses rally outside home of GOP nominee Whitman

Hundreds of unionized nurses wearing scrubs held a raucous rally Thursday outside the Silicon Valley home of GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman to protest her proposals for the state, which they say will hurt working people. Dozens of police officers descended on the leafy streets surrounding Whitman's two-story colonial home in Atherton. An estimated 1,100 protesters chanted "We're going to beat back the Whitman attack" as an airplane paid for by the nurses union circled overhead, trailing a banner that read, "Nurses say no to Whitman."

Associated Press

November 23, 2010

Atherton police prepare for nurse rally at Meg Whitman's home

Atherton police are bracing for the town's quiet streets to be flooded today with hundreds of nurses for a rally outside the home of Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman. The California Nurses Association says the noontime rally — which is expected to draw up to 1,000 nurses to the former eBay executive's house on Edge Road near Menlo-Atherton High School — is a "response to a decision by candidate Whitman to mount an offensive attack directly against the" union.

San Jose Mercury News

November 23, 2010

eMeg to the ER stat

Here’s another thing we don’t understand: Why Meg Whitman keeps picking fights with the California Nurses’ Association. Having already erected a new web site exclusively dedicated to brawling with the nurses’ union, and sent a personal letter to every member of the CNA, Her Megness announced yesterday that she is “forming an advisory board of nurses to advise her on issues during the campaign.”

Calbuzz

November 23, 2010

Arbitrator Rules in Favor of Cooley Dickinson RNs

In a victory for registered nurses at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, an independent arbitrator has ruled that the hospital violated the nurses’ union contract last January when it froze the Defined Benefit Pension Plan. The arbitrator has ordered the hospital to promptly unfreeze the defined benefit pension plan for the nurses, restore the contribution to the plan retroactive to the date on which the Hospital froze the plan, and to continue to fund the plan going forward.

Massachusetts Nurses Association

November 23, 2010

Whitman Attacks on Nurses Part of Larger Strategy

The nurses started the fight even before Whitman won the Republican gubernatorial nomination on June 8, launching an actress dressed as ''Queen Meg'' who trails Whitman at campaign events and private fundraisers. ''I was surprised that they just came out, right out of the box, attacking me,'' Whitman said during a recent campaign stop in Roseville, a Sacramento surburb. ''And I said you know what, I am going to reach out to these nurses to make sure that all nurses know my position, and then they can make an informed decision.''

November 23, 2010

Mass. Labor Relations Commission Issues Unfair Labor Practice Complaint Against Cambridge Hospital

The State Labor Relations Commission (SLRC) today issued a formal complaint against Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA), citing the organization for bargaining in bad faith and depriving nurses of their union rights following CHA’s decision to prematurely cease negotiations, declare impasse and unilaterally slash nurses’ retiree health benefits. The SLRC will be scheduling hearings on the complaint issued against CHA.

Massachusetts Nurses Association

November 23, 2010

Nurses unionize to improve patient care

America's nurses are on the march — literally and figuratively. Consider just two recent developments: In Minnesota, 12,000 nurses from 14 hospitals walked off the job for a day last month, the largest such action in U.S. history, in a bid to improve staffing levels and to secure standardized nurse-patient ratios. In Texas, almost 2,000 nurses at five hospitals voted to form unions in a two-week period ending in June. This was particularly notable because Texas has the third largest number of RNs in the country — after California and New York — but previously only one private hospital in Texas was organized.

Washington Times

November 23, 2010

Union chief makes nurses a political force

Rose Ann DeMoro, a former supermarket cashier from the suburbs of St. Louis who has risen to become one of America’s most powerful labor leaders, recalls that her tough but saintly mother had two maxims. One: “Keep reaching.” Two: “If someone hits you, and you don’t hit ’em back, you’re going to get it when you get home.” DeMoro, executive director of the 86,000 member California Nurses Association and the 155,000-member National Nurses United, says she has faithfully lived by the first — and never had to worry much about the second.

San Francisco Chronicle

November 23, 2010

Combative nurses' union takes on Meg Whitman

The California Nurses Association has taken on powerful people before, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislators from both major parties, and has scored resounding wins. In each showdown, the 86,000-person union made full use of its key advantage – the appeal of its members' professions – while pressing hard for policies that benefited nurses.

Sacramento Bee

November 23, 2010

Whitman goes toe-to-toe with nurses union

The nurses group wants Brown as the next governor, but Whitman is reaching out directly to individual nurses. Meg Whitman is trying her hand at a manner of union busting – and her degree of success will help determine whether she's elected governor in November.

Orange County Register

November 23, 2010