Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/117871
Clockwise from opposite page: NNU RNs turned heads in downtown Chicago in their red scrubs and green Robin Hood caps; a band of Robin Hoods jump on stage to save the day during the May 18 rally; Nurses performed a special ���Taxing Wall Street��� dance during the rally; activist musician Tom Morello rocks the crowd with his performance. le world leaders gathd to balance their country���s gets on the backs of working e, more than a thousand nal Nurses United regisurses used their 2012 Staff ssembly to publicize a simfective solution to generatfor desperately needed ices: A Robin Hood tax on l Street financial transactions that in the United States alone could raise more than $350 billion a year. Dubbed the ���People���s G-8,��� RNs from across the 50 states and from as far away as South Korea, Guatemala, Italy, and Canada gathered for four days in Chicago to share stories about the hardships they are witnessing among their patients and communities; learn about the Robin Hood tax; understand what role unions and 14 N AT I O N A L N U R S E nurses can and should play in fighting for social and economic justice; and be inspired by the fellowship of likeminded RNs dedicated to patient and social advocacy. The highlight of the assembly was a noontime rally of more than 5,000 people in Daley Plaza on May 18 featuring famous activist rock musician Tom Morello and more than a thousand RNs dancing in sync to the song ���Taxing Wall Street.��� ���As nurses, we see every day what is going on with our patients and in our communities,��� said Karen Higgins, a Massachusetts critical care RN and member of the NNU Council of Presidents, at the opening reception to a crowd of cheering nurses. ���We���re watching people coming in much sicker than they ever were before. They���re uninsured. And even if they are insured, they can���t afford the copays. We���re here today because we have a concrete way of making a change and that is to tax Wall Street. It is time for Wall Street to start paying what all the rest of us pay. We want to use this money for good things, like jobs. And getting people back in their homes. And education for our kids that they won���t have to spend the rest of W W W. N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G A P R I L | M AY 2 0 1 2