National Nurses United

NewsBriefs_Mar RAD's changes Korea back 4/2/10 6:12 PM Page 14 v NEWS BRIEFS Leaders of the Korean Health and Medical Workers Union and National Nurses United met at NNU's Oakland, Calif. headquarters in February. The Korean nurses brought a $4000 donation to NNU's Haiti relief work, along with headbands that they asked their fellow nurses to wear as a sign of solidarity. tals—including a planned 'healthcare town' on picturesque Jeju Island that would include a water park and riding trails. The KHMU and other unions in the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions—South Korea's AFL-CIO—are leading the fight against such economic inequality in South Korea, a first-world country with an economy that relies heavily on exports. The union, which represents all healthcare professionals except for doctors and has the motto 'Life Before Money,' has taken strong stands in favor of the rights of temporary workers, who make up a third of South Korea's labor force. It also maintains a support fund for workers that are unfairly dismissed. "Our perspective is that the union represents the interests of broader society and not just the workers we represent," said organizer Kim Hyung-Sik. "Any issue that comes in conflict with the rest of society or patients, or harms them in any way, we oppose." CNA/NNOC itself has inspired KHMU's local bargaining strategy. The South Korean union translated into Korean the entire contract that CNA/NNOC signed with health management organization Kaiser Permanente. "We had our policy department study the Kaiser contract and have used its concepts and ideas in almost every local, to say look, this is what California nurses are getting," said Yoo. KHMU currently advocates for the government to pay 92 percent of all healthcare costs for patients, rather than the current standard of 62 to 65 percent. CNA/NNOC co-president and NNU vice-president Malinda Markowitz, RN said she was struck by the Korean nurses' discipline and dedication to improving their working conditions and patient care. "No matter where in the world we are, nurses have the same concerns and struggles, and we have a common bond that we really need to facilitate," said Markowitz. —Felicia Mello South Korean, U.S. Nurses Build Ties of Solidarity INTERNATIONAL W hen korean health and Medical Workers' Union general secretary Yoo Ji-hyun shaved her head on the floor of South Korea's Parliament late last year, she wasn't making a fashion statement. Instead, Yoo was protesting new labor laws that will affect the KHMU—a bold, scrappy union that represents 41,000 nurses and other healthcare workers in South Korea and uses determined organizing and attention-grabbing tactics to challenge attacks on the country's government-subsidized healthcare system. In February, KHMU activists shared the flavor of that struggle in a meeting with leaders of National Nurses United and the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee in Oakland, California. They had traveled to the United States to learn from the experience of CNA/NNOC and NNU, they said, because the unions share progressive values and a commitment to universal healthcare. "We are both discussing healthcare reform and single-payer from the vantage 14 N AT I O N A L N U R S E point of how it affects nurses at the bedside," said Yoo through a translator. "How President Obama's healthcare reform shapes up has a very strong potential impact on South Korea because of the close relationship between our two countries." For most nurses in the United States, the idea of caring for 50 patients at once is mindboggling. But that's what happens in extreme cases in the South Korean health system, said Yoo. Average patient loads are 12 to 15 on medical-surgical units, she said, and four to five in intensive care. Low pay and tough working conditions have created a severe nursing shortage, especially in rural areas. South Korean patients can count on the government to cover roughly two-thirds of their medical costs, and the nation's hospitals are required to treat any patient. But pro-business President Lee Myung-bak wants to allow new, less-regulated hospitals to be constructed in the country's free-trade zones that would be permitted to cherry-pick wealthier patients—a proposal the KHMU strongly opposes. Even as the government moves to cut back on the public healthcare system, it plans to hold a medical tourism conference in April to introduce insurance companies from the U.S. and other rich countries to the boutique hospiW 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 MARCH 2010

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