Issue link: https://nnumagazine.uberflip.com/i/197697
NewsBriefs_April 5/5/11 11:35 AM Page 5 Michigan Nurses Challenge Governor's Cuts B MICHIGAN randishing red and white signs stating "Some Cuts NEVER Heal," Michigan Nurses Association members this spring have staged multiple rallies challenging Republican Governor Rick Snyder's proposed draconian cuts to the working class and poor of Michigan. In his relentless drive to balance Michigan's deficit budget, Snyder has vigorously recommended decimating various health programs, taxing pensions, removing the earned income tax credit (which will immediately send 14,000 children into poverty), and more. Nurses at the University of Michigan, represented by MNA, are fighting to keep APRIL 2011 their collective bargaining rights intact as the governor has strongly recommended making all public workers pay no less than 20 percent of their health insurance premiums while also mandating a 5 percent pay reduction for all public workers. This move undermines the nurses' collective bargaining contract and is a thinly veiled challenge to bust the union. To add insult to injury, under Snyder's plan business taxes will be cut by 82 percent and individual income taxes increased by 31 percent. Michigan citizens are in an uproar as Snyder's "shared sacrifice" plan looks suspiciously more like robbery of the working class and the poor. "Our patients are at risk from their own state government," MNA President Jeff Breslin, RN, exclaimed from the Capitol 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 steps on March 30 during Michigan Nurses MARCH!, MNA's legislative action day. "Michigan citizens are in danger. These cuts will leave them bleeding and disoriented, wondering what they did to deserve such horrendous treatment. We can speak out. We WILL speak out! This is a time for healing, not for wounding. We cannot let our patients suffer. Some cuts NEVER heal." From joining other unions and rallying up north in Marquette to challenging the governor in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan commencement speech, MNA nurses are taking patient advocacy to the streets. The future of Michigan as a viable state for employment, education, and financial security is at risk. Nurses are rising to the challenge and demanding a better Michigan. —Ann Kettering Sincox N AT I O N A L N U R S E 5