National Nurses United

NewsBriefs_June REV 2 6/30/11 12:44 PM Page 5 said that patients are routinely delaying procedures, such as colonoscopies, because they cannot afford the copays. Some people are working multiple jobs, while others who used to have decent jobs but got laid off, have given up seeking work because they are older professionals who have no career prospects in this economy. "There are men in their 50s, engineers, in my community, who were laid off," said Burger. "They've stopped looking because there's nothing out there for them." The Main Street Contract is simple. It calls for jobs at living wages for everyone; a quality, public education for our kids; guaranteed healthcare with a single, high standard of care; a secure, dignified retirement for those too old to work; good housing and protection from hunger; a safe and healthy environment; and a just taxation system where corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share. To raise funds for these goals and to reinvest in America, NNU nurses are proposing the Main Street Reinvestment Act, legislation that would levy a small tax on the financial transactions—the buying and selling of stocks, credit default swaps, derivatives—of Wall Street's banking giants. Economists estimate that a transaction tax could raise up to $350 billion in new revenue that could be invested in job (Continued on page 6) Talking About Where It Hurts Registered nurses are not immune to the hardships and suffering caused by our dysfunctional economy that continues to give tax breaks to the wealthy and cut programs for the unemployed, the foreclosed upon, and the sick. Here are some comments nurses are sharing. Tell us your own story at www.nationalnursesunited.org/story. purchased my home, I found myself unable to afford my mortgage payments. I receive Social Security disability and that is not enough to pay my bills, which includes Medicare insurance, my prescription insurance, and huge copays on some very expensive medication. And, oh yeah, I have to eat. We are seeing a tremendous number of foreclosed homes, a lot of unemployed. People have been unemployed so long. My husband is a heavy equipment operator. He has a tremendous amount of experience, but has been off work for two and a half years. Because of that, the house was foreclosed on. Two of my three children have no health insurance. Without my job, nobody in the family would have health insurance. This is representative of a majority of people in the community. I assist with our local outreach group. We have so many more working poor. They work, but work at minimum wage. They do not have any benefits, any healthcare, they literally can't get food on their table. My son is 20 and I can't tell you how many of his friends are in families that can no longer really afford to keep them. So periodically they come and live with us because they have nowhere else to go. I see them with their sleeping bags coming out of the forest next to us because they don't have a place to land. —RN from California —RN from California I am 56 years old and have been a registered nurse for 28 years. About two and a half years ago, I suddenly went into renal failure and had to start dialysis. I had to have several surgeries and was unable to return to work. For the first time since I had JUNE 2011 —RN from Tennessee My husband is a self-employed window installer. He was the main breadwinner for our family. With all the job losses in Michigan, we lost a lot of our customers. I am an RN and had been working part time, three 8hour days one week and four days another. 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 We have two children, 15 and 14. Our daughter is special needs, with cognitive, hearing, and speech impairment and cerebral palsy. In the last year we have found she has a bleeding disorder as well. Last September we realized that there was no way I could afford to work part time without risking our home and making large changes in our lifestyle. I began working five days a week and now do not get home until 6:30 p.m. each night. —RN from Michigan I am a 58-year-old oncology nurse. My 57year-old sister works two part-time jobs and can't get health insurance. Since March of last year, she has been living with us. She needed respite from living in her van. We found out late last year that she had liver and lung tumors. Since Los Angeles County gives only emergency care to out-of-county residents, she was denied the outpatient scan that would have confirmed the diagnosis and given her options to plan for healthcare. She is so discouraged and disheartened, she doesn't even want any cancer care. I am an oncology RN, yet I have to watch my sister die of lack of medical care, in the United States of America in 2011. —RN from California N AT I O N A L N U R S E 5

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