Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/1546784
22 N A T I O N A L N U R S E 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 J U LY | A U G U S T | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 6 N urses know elections are crucial. Voting is how we win union representation in our workplaces and elect leaders who represent our interests. If there weren't power in voting, there wouldn't be such an effort to take that right away, through gerry- mandering, suppressing mail-in ballots, disenfranchising women and Black and brown voters, threatening to send immigra- tion agents to the polls, and otherwise trying to block working-class people from casting a ballot. Of course, nurses will rise up for the midterms to protect patients' and our own right to vote. But as important as the midterms are, we can't depend on an election to revive some level of "normalcy," while the billionaire class is just regrouping to figure out how to best continue exploiting working people. Over the past two years, we have seen red line after red line crossed, as the Trump administration and its billionaire buddies have stolen our public health monies and used it to fund warfare and tax breaks for the wealthiest people on earth. They let a handful of tech bros take the wheel of this country and actively destroy civil, public health, and human rights protections. Federal agents have detained, deported, and even murdered both immigrants and U.S. citizens, with impunity. Fascism is no longer a "what if." We are living under it right now. Let's be clear: In this time of unprece- dented crisis, we should always feel empowered, even if it's natural to feel afraid. While one midterm election will not be enough to heal our democracy, union nurses can and must absolutely fight fascism. We can do it by growing our numbers and steeling our solidarity in a whole new way. We can do it by asking ourselves, "As this administration crosses red lines, what am I personally willing to do to fight back? Can I help organize non- unionized nurses? Can I organize my friends and family, join a protest, help provide care to other people who are standing up?" And the good news is: That is exactly what our union is doing. Nurses have even developed a "red line pledge" laying out the work ahead, as we fight to protect democ- racy and protect patients (you can talk to your nurse leaders or your rep about how to sign on.) We are also taking strong collective action to protect our patients and one another. When our NNU sister Debora Kapisha, an RN at Maine Medical Center in Port- land, Maine, was kidnapped and detained by ICE this summer, hundreds of nurses mobilized overnight to rally behind her. Our advocacy prevented her from being trans- ferred and eventually got her released. ICE tried to fulfill its arbitrary arrest quotas by snatching a beloved registered nurse, who is a legal resident with an asylum claim, and we rose up. When the Trump administration cruelly ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of Haitian immi- grants, New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) members jumped into action to call for change and to keep this issue front and center. We've also flexed our collective power at protests, including No Kings and May Day Strong, at our lobby days, and on picket and strike lines across the country. In August, nurses in eight cities protested tech giant Palantir, whose A.I.-powered software is used by the federal government to track and kidnap immigrants and to identify bombing targets in war. Palantir tech is also used by hospital employers to cut corners on safe patient care. Nurses used their voices and direct action to call for Palantir to get out of our government, out of our hospitals, and out of our society. Nurses know that corporate employers are eager to implement unproven, unregu- lated A.I. to boost profits — and that the tech companies behind this A.I. have an agenda to destroy working-class power. We will be there to stop the technofacists, in our workplaces, at the bargaining table, and through effective regulations. Our power to fight fascism is also fueled by the growth of our movement. In just the past year, we have added more than 7,000 new nurse members to our ranks. Not only did we refuse to crack under countless threats to working people, we have only grown stronger. And we are continuing to organize like never before. Nursing is the most trusted profession for good reason. When everything is at stake, and patients don't know whom to rely on, there's no doubt: They can count on nurses. There's no other workforce that has the public trust, the moral clarity, and the fighting spirit that you do. There's no other workforce so experienced with corporate billionaires trying to threaten us into submission. Nurses never stop fighting to protect patients and save lives, even when it means doing it scared. The road ahead will not be easy. But through countless victories that no one thought were possible, through organizing our colleagues shift by shift not to take an unsafe assignment, or unionizing our facili- ties against all odds, nurses were built for this moment. When the billionaires think about crossing more red lines during and after the midterms, we will be there to protect our patients from harm, in a line of union red. Puneet Maharaj is executive director of National Nurses United. Puneet Maharaj Executive Director, National Nurses United Crossing the line To protect our patients, our union, and our democracy, it's time to escalate like never before, at the ballot box and beyond.