NewsBriefs.REV_June REV 7/30/10 6:07 PM Page 8
NEWS BRIEFS
RNs to Whitman:
You Can't Push Us Around
CALIFORNIA
ore than 1,000 registered
nurses from across California
made a house call July 15 to
billionaire gubernatorial
candidate Meg Whitman to
spotlight how her campaign platform
threatens bedside nurses, patients, and
other working people.
For months, California Nurses Association members have been publicly challenging Whitman's positions against corporate
regulation, such as RN-to-patient ratios or
guaranteed meal and rest breaks for RNs;
against secure pensions for state employees;
against expansion of healthcare coverage to
more Californians; and against union representation for workers. RNs say they are
afraid that the former eBay CEO will try to
balance California's budget on the backs of
its most vulnerable citizens, while cutting
M
8
N AT I O N A L N U R S E
taxes and costs for corporations and the
wealthy in the name of job creation.
"Meg Whitman wants to bring a big-business model to the public sector, taking away
what we as nurses have worked for for so
long," said Rhonda Watts, an RN at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in San
Bernardino, Calif. "Over the last five years,
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
there have been a lot of positive changes in
nursing. I don't want to see us go backwards."
According to news reports, Whitman has
already spent a record-breaking $81 million
in her bid for governor, and may ultimately
spend up to $180 million. The nurses of CNA
have dubbed Whitman "Queen Meg" to
highlight how she is trying to use her wealth
JUNE 2010
