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Retirees 1/9/07 3:03 PM Page 11 them active. One of the worst things you can do is retire and have no connection to something you did for 20 to 30 years. You walk away feeling like you no longer belong here – there's something terribly wrong with that picture." While some nurses upon retiring may just want to relax from the stressful day-to-day intensity of the floor, many eventually look for activities to keep busy and are ready to get involved in what they did not have time to do before. CNA/NNOC designed the retiree division to be flexible enough to match retirees' interests. For those who prefer to remain and volunteer in their own community, retired nurses can mentor people interested in becoming RNs, or speak at local high schools and colleges. They can write letters to editors of newspapers, or go to field offices and speak with legislators. For those who want to become more involved in different levels of CNA, now is the opportunity, McVay says, for nurse representatives or those who served on professional practice committees to attend board meetings and serve on task [ "I still want to protect these young nurses coming into the field," she said. "They need representatives, people to help them stand up for what's right for good patient care. Nurses want to do their best, and the responsibility is put on us. [They are] spread so thin they go home wondering, 'Did I do everything?' You can't do good work if they're overloading you. And I feel when I retired I didn't have to stay in [CNA], but I do pay dues as I feel it is important for me to honor a legacy that has been very good to me over the years." Retired nurses like Lambro witnessed many of the gains CNA/NNOC won over the decades for nursing and healthcare that some new nurses can take for granted. Lambro remembers that after she first graduated from nursing school in 1961, she worked in a job with no union. "We were expected to work because we loved our job and we were there to help people," she remembered. "They never thought that we might need some help." When the nurses tried to unionize, Lambro was a big supporter. Not only did they succeed in raising the pay from $300 to $400 a month, but they found they now "THE RETIREE DIVISION IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK HAS BEEN MISSING. We really do need a way of contacting those who have been with us before. They have a lot of expertise and we need to be able to keep them active. One of the worst things you can do is retire and have no connection to something you did for 20 to 30 years. You walk away feeling like you no longer belong here—there's something terribly wrong with that picture." forces or other committees. She is still seeking input and ideas for the program from nurses. A small group of nurses who have retired together in San Jose, Calif. is a good example of the retiree activism that the division is trying to foster. The women remain connected to each other and to nursing activism. They call one another up to take continuing education classes on preparing for upcoming disasters like the avian flu and on patient advocacy. They keep one another updated on the work of their local legislators. RN Patricia Schramm, who retired from San Jose Regional Medical Center in April 2005, belongs to this group and has encouraged some nurses who have retired to be more active than before. She also networks with nurses from three different hospitals. During the Proposition 89 campaign, Schramm returned to her old workplace to pass out fliers, badges, and stickers promoting the initiative. She has also spoken against the threatened closure of her hospital. One of Schramm's fellow retired nurses, Rita Lambro, who also retired from San Jose Regional in July 2005, believes that staying active is only as hard as you make it. "I'm a nurse," said Lambro. "I'll always be a nurse and I need to be updated on things going on. Just because I'm retired, it doesn't mean I don't want to know." She reads articles, makes calls, remains aware of the political figures in her neighborhood, and talks to friends and neighbors. Troubled by the "atrocious" hospital bills her friends and family report, she makes herself available to help them and strives to remain informed about healthcare reform. When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tried to roll back nursing ratios in 2005, Lambro told everyone she could that his plan was a "dangerous and wrong " solution. Lambro sees her continuing activism as a retired nurse as critical for all nurses and patients. DECEMBER 2006 ] had some power and a voice. "We could ask for things," she said. McVay believes that retirees already have shown a strong track record of what they can accomplish. It's this generation of retirees that has gone on strike to get every other weekend off, gone on strike for a retirement plan, and worked to define retiree benefits in only the past 10 years. "It's the older RN who remembers what it's been like coming up through the ranks and knows just how bad it really has been for nurses," said McVay. "It's important we don't lose that history." With current threats, like the Kentucky River decision, looming that would prevent many nurses from organizing with CNA/NNOC, McVay believes that everything her generation has achieved could be taken away. The union's power to fight for nursing rights could be quickly dismantled if nurses don't stay vigilant. "Someone with a stroke of a pen can take all these gains away, making us second-class citizens with no voice at all," said McVay. "This would be devastating to the RN, the field, and tragic for the patients. Everything we do in the political arena is based on patient care. The retiree division is an extension of what we've been doing all our professional lives. We need to give as much support as possible for those still doing the job." Lambro agreed, saying that the ultimate goal is to make sure people get the good nursing care they deserve. "If I can help protect that by being active and speaking up, even though I'm just one individual, that why I'm staying in CNA," she said. "I want to be part of the retired group so I can look out for people coming up and help them build their future." For more information about the retiree division, please contact Kay McVay, RN at (510) 273-2240 or e-mail her at kmcvay@calnurses.org. ■ Bonnie Ho is a news intern at Registered Nurse. W W W. C A L N U R S E S . O R G REGISTERED NURSE 11