National Nurses United

SEIU:2 4/24/08 12:35 AM Page 17 advocacy work that CNA/NNOC undertakes. After a tireless, decadelong fight for the ratios, California's RNs have been vindicated: ratios have created a boom in nurses entering or returning to the profession, nursing burnout is on the decline, and patient outcomes have improved, according to both anecdotal and scientific evidence. California nurses are committed to bringing the same professional improvements to their colleagues in other states, and CNA/NNOC has either cosponsored or actively supported ratios legislation in Illinois, Texas, Ohio, Kentucky, Maine, and Arizona. Most RNs know that the hospital industry would like nothing more than to repeal ratio legislation and assign unlimited numbers of patients to each nurse, but fewer know that SEIU in California actively fought against ratios. When nurse-to-patient ratios became inevitable, SEIU switched strategies from lobbying against the legislation outright to lobbying to weaken it by including LVNs in the ratio counts and opposing tough penalties for hospitals that willfully violated the ratios. Over the course of the next several weeks and months, SEIU will "The issue here is not whether health plans should choose or be forced to cover BiDil, or how much profit NitroMed makes," Fernandez added. "The issue is that the argument over coverage of BiDil deflects attention from the real issues involved in health disparities." "If we want to get at the root causes of disparities in heart disease, we need to look at a number of factors, such as under-use of common, standard therapies in African Americans, as well as inadequate preventive care. We need to pay attention to the complex social problems—most notably poverty and inequality—that interact with human biology to produce poor health. And finally, we must recognize that eliminating health disparities also requires access to highquality, affordable health care for all Americans—the important issue that Congress is rightly debating. "The struggle to end racial disparities in health is too important to allow Congress, the FDA and civil rights organizations, such as the NAACP, to be sidetracked by marketing ploys under the guise of civil rights issues." Today, Fernandez added, "I've never been on the opposite side of the NAACP. I've been a big admirer of the SEIU, an extremely progressive organization. But now these drug companies are going to the good guys for cover." This brings me back to my question: Why did IAEP, a division of SEIU, decide to endorse Lipitor at this particular point in time? I'm still hoping that the union will get back to me with an answer to this important question. Follow up: After Mahar's article, SEIU finally responded. It claimed that "the letter was generated by a Local Union staff member unfamiliar with SEIU's clear policies against product endorsement. The Local has ended their relationship with the product. SEIU does not endorse products." She found that argument hard to believe, since the signer of the letter, Matthew Levy, appears to have been with the organization since 2001 and as a "director," is a top official. Maggie Mahar is a fellow at The Century Foundation and author of Money-Driven Medicine: The Real Reason Health Care Costs So Much (Harper/Collins, 2006). A version of this article originally appeared on Maggie Mahar's blog www.healthbeatblog.org on March 19, 2008. APRIL 2008 be launching campaigns via telephone, mail, advertisements, and even intrusions into CNA/NNOC-represented facilities. In the deluge of propaganda and misinformation, it's important to remember that SEIU's track record speaks for itself. Nurses across the United States have become mobilized and politicized because they don't want their employer picking their union for them. Labor in this country has reached a breaking point. If workers do not take a stand for maintaining authentic bargaining rights and enforceable labor laws, unions will become toothless, ineffective tools of the employers. The era of harmful, regressive company unionism will come to a close, but it won't go without a fight. Our goals must be to further the national RN movement to fight for single-payer healthcare, ratios and other patient protections, pensions, salaries, and scope of practice. CNA/NNOC intends to do that in partnership with the RNs, and by putting their expertise, professional knowledge, and priorities at the forefront. That's more than you can say for the other guys. I WHAT'S AT STAKE FOR RNS IF SEIU INTERNATIONAL AND THE EMPLOYERS WIN? lower pay and higher dues reduced pensions and retiree health coverage less protection against unfair discipline and loss of contract protections "your" union working with employers in the legislature and regulatory arena to erode RN ratios, workplace standards, and RN professional practice WHAT TO DO IF YOU SEE SEIU INTERNATIONAL AT YOUR FACILITY immediately notify your labor rep or chief nurse rep. call security. try to get this information from them: What is your name? What SEIU local are you from? Are you a nurse? do not say anything else, ask any other questions, or answer any questions they may ask you. Do not engage with them. if you have a cell phone or camera handy, take their picture for your labor rep. Otherwise, walk away, continue your work, and let security deal with them. WHAT ELSE CAN I DO? don't sign any cards or petitions tell seiu staff who call or talk to you that you don't want your employer picking your union. learn the facts about SEIU at www.ServingEmployersInsteadofUs.org contact your nurse rep or labor rep if you have questions W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G REGISTERED NURSE 17

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