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Two Bay Area lawmakers seek to hold tax-exempt hospitals accountable

Nonprofit hospitals in California, which take millions of dollars in tax breaks annually, would face greater scrutiny of the charity care and other community benefits they provide under legislation sought by two Bay Area lawmakers.

Mercury News
April 8, 2013

Round Two in High-Stakes California Health Care Vote

In Antioch, California, Angela Glasper walks through the Kaiser Permanente medical center talking to fellow employees about an upcoming vote between two unions. For years she represented her worksite in negotiations and defended co-workers in grievance meetings. Now she hopes they will listen to her and vote for the National Union of Healthcare Workers.

Labor Notes
April 5, 2013

Lack of paid sick leave is unhealthy for America

Ian Rizzio was a 24-year-old mechanical engineering student in Portland, Oregon, managing a sandwich shop to pay his tuition. One day, he woke up sick, but went to work anyway, as he later testified to the Portland City Council. After vomiting in the bathroom, Rizzio spent two hours trying — unsuccessfully — to reach his boss before going home to rest. When Rizzio came into work the next day, he was fired immediately. With $35,000 in student loans, he feared he’d have to withdraw from school.

The Washington Post
April 3, 2013

The Tar Sands Disaster

Canada’s tar sands formations, landlocked in northern Alberta, are a giant reserve of carbon-saturated energy — a mixture of sand, clay and a viscous low-grade petroleum called bitumen. Pipelines are the best way to get this resource to market, but existing pipelines to the United States are almost full. So tar sands companies, and the Alberta and Canadian governments, are desperately searching for export routes via new pipelines.

The New York Times
April 2, 2013

RN GUEST OPINION: Caring for Morton Hospital’s smallest patients

As I write this letter, I am surrounded by my own young children’s playful laughter and I am both sad and angry for the community I have cared for over the years. This is a dark day for the families of our community.

Taunton Daily Gazette
April 2, 2013

SOUTH FLORIDA NURSES WIN FIRST UNION CONTRACTS

South Florida registered nurses this week are celebrating their first ever collective bargaining agreement at Florida Medical Center (FMC) and Palmetto General Hospital, with terms they say will both improve patient care as well as secure economic gains for nurses and their families.

Caribbean Today
April 2, 2013

Health Care Employees CNA, Sutter Reach Agreement for California Pacific, St. Luke's Nurses

SAN FRANCISCO—Registered nurses who are members of the California Nurses Association will vote in April on a new 34-month proposed contract with California Pacific Medical Center that includes a 6 percent wage increase and guaranteed meal and rest breaks, the union announced March 27.

BNA
March 29, 2013

Federal healthcare law could boost some California premiums by 30%

The federal healthcare law will help cause insurance premiums to rise 30% on average for many middle-income Californians next year, but lower-income consumers could save up to 84%, a new government report says.

LAtimes.com
March 28, 2013

Fighting for patients, beyond the bedside

It's no coincidence that the California Nurses Association has been the most active and effective union in fighting for a broad social and economic justice agenda, one that seeks to give greater value to caring and caregiving. Unlike many unions that fight mostly for their members' interests, CNA is an extension of the nursing ethos itself.

San Francisco Bay Guardian
March 27, 2013

Our Voice: Not-for-profit hospitals should provide their fair share of charity

Until 1969, the federal government required not-for-profit hospitals to meet the 5 percent standard. However, after Medicare and Medicaid were enacted in 1965, hospitals argued that the need for charity care would decline so that hospitals could not meet the IRS standard and that they should be awarded more flexibility. The IRS dropped the 5 percent rule but established a “community benefit standard.”

MyDesert.com
March 22, 2013