National Nurses United

Pensions:1 copy 7/22/09 9:50 PM Page 11 Not-So- Golden Years Far too many RNs still retire without pensions and the financial security they deserve after a lifetime of caring for others. Meet three nurses with very different stories. Today, you can't turn on the TV or glance at a newspaper without seeing the bad news: Retirees with state and municipal governments see their pensions wiped out by Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme; General Motors' employees may get less pension than their contracts specify because of the automaker's bankruptcy; and the stock market's plunge means those who planned to retire off of their Wall Street-invested 401(k)s or 403(b)s are finding their funds coming up short. It's an important lesson for registered nurses, since until about a decade ago, most nurses in California labored without pensions from their employers, said Joe Lindsay, Kaiser Division Staff Director of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee. And in other states where RNs have not enjoyed the clout that comes with unionization, the vast majority of nurses still do not have pensions—particularly true for those who work for private-sector hospitals and institutions. But through the hard work of dedicated nurses who have bargained and fought for decent pensions in their contracts, more and more CNA/NNOC nurses are facing their retirement years with some sense of security. And it's high time, said Lindsay. After all, RNs are filling a public service and deserve the same consideration as teachers, firefighters, and police officers. "The delivery of healthcare is a human right and, as such, it should be treated the same as the delivery of other vital public services: Police, fire, etc.," he said. "But in the history of the United States, that has not been the case. Nurses have been overwhelmingly employed in private hospitals, and because of that, RNs have not been included in general in public pensions." Pensions are different from other retirement mechanisms such as 401(k)s and 403(b)s. The main distinction is that a pension guarantees a retiree a BY HEATHER BOERNER | Photographs by Lauren Reid JUNE 2009 W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G REGISTERED NURSE 11

• Cover